Can I Call You Friend?
by Sailor Water Dragon
Summary: KroryxMiranda Follow these two as they find friendship and comfort in eachother's faults.But Miranda runs into a slight problem when she realizes she's in love with her new best friend...who has a serious dead girlfriend problem.
1. Hi

Disclaimer: I do not own D gray man

I'm mad. Why? Because when I type in Krory, there are only three fics for him. I'm so mad that I'm going to write about him. Happy!

Title is based off of a KroryxMiranda fanart by DaRkCoUnTeSsB. Type it in on DeviantArt

Also, Miranda will have a German accent, because she is german and its about the only easy accent to write out here. Yes I know there are no accents shown in the anime or manga but they usually don't becuase of just the english translation. no body freak out k?

Ja- yes

Nein- no

Mein- my

Gott - God

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE MIRANDA'S GERMAN ACCENT (. I dont see why not....I like it...)

YOU CAN VIEW THE PLAIN ENGLISH VERSION ON MY DEVIANTART ACCOUNT. Link on my profile. thank you.

* * *

After a brutal Akuma attack, Miranda was given the task to go back to headquarters with the wounded Finders and the Innocence that was recovered. Though to anyone else, these men were fine. But thanks to her unique ability, they were fine as long as she kept her Time Record activated.

They boarded immediately and waited to leave.

Miranda sighed as she plopped down on her seat. It was tiring, keeping her Innocence activated for so long but she's dealt with worse. The Finders sat in the booth behind her, huddled together as they spoke about the battle they just witnessed.

It was a rather intense mission, at least to her, being on the defense all the time, it was. She knew it was utter hell for her friends who jumped in the fray without question. She looked down at her right hand where her Time Record glowed with power.

Even as an exorcist, she couldn't help but feel useless.

But why? She can control time!

What good is that on the battlefield?

She placed her chin on her fist, looking up at the sky through the window and began to argue with herself.

_Vell, everyone needs a good defense… _

"Miranda?" someone called out. She was a little too caught up in her own conflict that she didn't notice the cloaked figure speaking to her.

_But vat about fighting?_

"Um...Miranda?"

_Zen again I don't zink I could fight even if I had ze ability!_

"Hello?"

_Ja zat's right! I'm too much of a clumsy coward to fight and-_

Finally, he leaned over and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped up and yelped in surprise.

"Eeek!"

"Dah!" he did the same.

"O-oh! Krory?" she blushed in embarrassment," I'm so sorry I didn't see you!"

The tall exorcist also blushed, rubbing the back of his neck with his goofy smile.

"I-I'm sorry I startled you!"

"Oh no! I'm sorry I vasn't paying attention…oh vait, I zought you vere vith Lavi and Bookman" she watched him sit in the seats in front of her.

"Lavi says that 'It's very foolish and not gentlemen like to leave a young woman alone and unprotected!'" he recited, then paused, he poked his chin like he was trying to think," Or…something along those lines…I think…"

Miranda giggled," I see"

"Y-yes, so here I am. Oh! If that's alright with you I mean, I just-"

"Oh no, It's alright" she smiled.

He also smiled, unconsciously showing off his pearly white shark like fangs.

Fangs.

They make her nervous every time she saw them. She had seen what he was capable of on the battlefield, and every time she was glad she wasn't an akuma. Yet even as a comrade, it was still nerve-wracking.

He followed her eyes and immediately closed his mouth, concealing his fangs behind tight lips.

"I….I...um…" he mumbled nervously.

"Oh…n-no, I'm sorry I vas just-"

The train finally began to move, she could've sworn she heard him squeal in excitement. She watched in awe as the fierce "vampire" exorcist pressed his face up against the glass, watching everything pass by as the train gained full speed.

"Hee hee…"

She blinked; he looked like a young boy on a train for the first time. He was a completely different person from the Krory she was used to seeing.

Where on earth did that fierce vampire go?

'_Maybe…zat's apart of his ability? He's only like zis vhen he's fighting?_ she thought to herself.

Then it clicked.

That's the only time she's ever seen him. When they're on a mission together and he's in kill mode (or in his case, hungry mode).

They have never talked one on one…ever.

This revelation somehow made her more nervous than looking at his anti-akuma weapon.

* * *

It was pure silence between the two exorcists. He kept his eyes on the window as Miranda toyed with the zipper of her uniform, and looked around every once and awhile.

By now she was so used to her other friends being the outgoing and talkative ones and she would listen happily.

_Maybe he doesn't vant to talk…_ she thought. Keeping her head down, she looked up at him

He was watching her from the corner of his eye. For a moment their eyes met unexpectedly and the two quickly looked away. She gulped nervously, there was a light pink tint on his cheeks, and she knew she saw it.

_Nein, he's just as nervous as me…_she began to twiddle her thumbs.

_But vat should I…_

"HEY YOU TWO!" a Finder suddenly popped out of nowhere, shattering the silence with no mercy.

Both Miranda and Krory screamed and jumped up, pressing their backs against the window like there was no place to hide or run.

The Finder blinked," OH…did I scare you?"

The two let out a big sigh of relief and slumped back to their seats.

"Um…I just wanted to tell you that we'll be at our station in a few more hours"

Krory nodded and wiped the seat from his forehead and Miranda was clutching her heart, trying to catch her breath.

"O…k…" The Finder walked off and mumbled to himself," Why did we get stuck with the weird ones?"

The moment had passed and the two made eye contact, they both smiled. Soon they erupted into laughter, at themselves and each other.

"Oh my, zat…zat vas a little silly of us vasn't it?" she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Hehe, yes it was!" he laughed

"I didn't know you could be frightened easily"

"Oh y-yes an old habit of mine, I can't really help it" he smiled sheepishly.

"I vouldn't have known, you're ze scary one…"

Krory put his hands up in defense," When I'm fighting Akuma only, but I think we're all different when we get caught up in battle"

She saw it click on his face, he noticed it too.

If that was the case then they have idea who the other really is.

"Arystar Krory" he extended a hand out to her.

"Miranda Lotto" she took his hand, a friendly handshake.

* * *

"vat? Everyzing?" she gasped.

"Even my clothes…" he sighed.

"Zat's mean! You didn't know how to play poker…"she paused at her own words,"Vait…zen vhy did you play if you knew you didn't know how?"

"I thought it would be fun…" He made an annoyed pout that made her laugh.

"Lavi and Allen said I was too nice"

"Is zat really a bad zing?"

"Well…I did feel bad when I didn't buy a flower from a little girl…so…" he stopped himself and hugged himself with his cape very thankful to have clothes on.

She got the idea and smiled.

"Don't feel so bad, I vish zere vere more nice people like you"

He cocked his head to side, like a confused puppy.

"Vell…ze neighborhood kids did nozing but crush my spirit everyday…" she sighed, there was a hint of a pathetic laugh but she was serious.

"…Really?" his voice was quiet "I had the same thing too"

She blinked in surprise," You…too?"

"The villagers back home called me a monster and kept me out, it was very depressing"

"Vat did you do?" she asked innocently, she listened to every word to the only person she could relate to.

"I fled, locking myself away in my castle" he realized the purpose of the question and asked her," What about you?"

"I have a bad habit of not knowing ven to quit…I've been fired 100 times up until my Innocence vas activated" she laughed nervously.

"Wh-what? 100 times? That's amazing," he gasped.

"I don't see vat's so great about being fired zat many times…" she mumbled, looking away for a moment.

"Well…no I mean…I would have never been able to do that. I would've given up after being fired once"

Miranda suddenly felt good about herself.

"R-really?"

He smiled big and nodded.

"I vish I had thought of zat sooner und maybe I vouldn't be so depressed all ze time…alzough zat even if I did know zat, it wouldn't stop how clumsy I am und…"she paused and looked up at him.

He was silent and listening carefully, looking interested but it still got her worked up.

"Oh I'm sorry! I'm rambling!"

"Oh no it's alright really!" he tried to convince her, but…

"I know…I can be very negative about myself sometimes"

He smiled slightly," That's ok. People take advantage of me"

"I feel useless," she added.

"I'm really shy"

"I'm clumsy"

"I'm a crybaby"

There was a pause, the train had stopped.

"Vhy haven't ve met before?" Miranda asked, standing and smiling big.

"I'm don't know but I'm glad we did. Nice to meet you."

* * *

review plz. kthx.

SWD


	2. Yum

Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray Man

Enjoy. Please review!

* * *

"Kuro-chan!" Lavi called out before hitting a weak level one akuma like a baseball with his hammer to Krory.

"Homerun!" he grinned watching it fly.

"Hey! Stop it with the Kuro-chan thing!" Krory growled while slicing through the akuma.

"Aw...but its cute" Lavi laughed, holding up his hammer and commanding it to grow to an unrealistic size to shield himself from Akuma bullets that rained from the sky.

"That's my point!"

"Hey you two! Stop fooling around! Miranda can't hold on much longer!" Bookman called out in his usual grumpy voice, hiding under the hammer and bopping Lavi on the head for good measure.

Krory bit his lip and looked back at the building that was covered in a gold light, on the roof of this building Miranda sat there trying to focus on keeping the shield up as Allen tried to keep akuma away.

"Miss exorcist! Are you alright?"

Miranda was panting heavily and fell to her knees, careful to keep her balance on the pointed rooftop. She kept her shield around the town house where the residents of this tiny village were hiding from the akuma that relentlessly attacked them.

"I...I'm ok!" she called out with a fake smile.  
Allen was standing on another building, and looked over at her. She looked back with pleading eyes, he nodded, understanding and looked foreword, his left eye sprung to life.  
"There are more coming!" he reported," The others are doing fine but you can't last that long!"

Useless.

"We have to separate the Innocence from the villagers, its what they want!"

"NOOO!! You can't make me!!" an old man screamed from the inside, apparently those inside overheard the plan and so did the elder that clung to the innocence, which was his family heirloom.

Miranda and Allen stared at the town house that suddenly turned into a mad house.  
There were things crashing, people screaming, arguing and the old man crying for his treasure to not be taken away.

"Miiiissss exorciiist!!"

Miranda carefully leaned to the side to see a man hanging out of the window with a small box in his hands.

"Please take it away from us!" he said before throwing it to her.  
Though it slipped out of her hands a couple of times she recomposed herself and held it to her chest closely.

"Phew" she let out a sigh of relief and deactivated her innocence.

"Quickly! Get out of here! We'll distract them!" Allen called out and joined Miranda on the roof.

They didn't need to be told twice, the townhouse doors flew open and a flood of people ran out and away from the battle.

"Let's go" he helped her onto his back and quickly jumped away from the ongoing attack of akuma. Just as expected, the group of enemies kept their attention on the two exorcists that held onto the innocence they were after.

Miranda clung to Allen and the box in her hand like her life depended on it, which it did.

One, akuma were trying to kill her and two, Komui would have her head if she came back with a third failed mission this week.

She gulped and held onto the box tighter.

Allen ran, jumped and turned sharply to get away from the on going attack of poisonous bullets, hoping to join with the others for more support.  
He winced; he took a bad fall before and was beginning to feel it now. He jumped behind a building and stopped to take a short breather.

"Allen! Are you alright?" she cried out in panic.

It took him a moment to reply," G-go take the box to Lavi and the others... I'll..." he panted slightly," I'll cover you ok?"  
Miranda slowly climbed off of him, trying not to cry, he was in pain and she was too weak to help.

He smiled weakly," I'm ok...rea-"  
Not a moment too soon they were found, Allen used his large arm to block the bullets.  
"GO HURRY!"

Miranda ran off as he took out a few enemies before they could follow her, but there were more. The poor girl ran like there was no tomorrow, ignoring the bullets that barely missed her by mere inches and kept her eyes fixed on the battle up ahead where Krory, Lavi and Bookman were there to help.  
But her bad luck caught up with her, she screeched to a halt when a couple of akuma stood in her way from progressing.

She gulped and slowly backed away, keeping her eyes on them, fearing any sudden movement could only lead to her death. As she started to turn the other way she then realized that the akuma chasing her were still there. She paled.

_Not good, not good, not good, not good..._

She was now backed up against a wall adjacent to her original path, clutching the box tighter.

As they lined up in front of her like some kind of execution line of gunmen, she looked back to where her comrades were, Lavi, Bookman and Krory.

Oh yea...Krory...

_I don't vant to die here...I finally found someone like me. I finally found my friend..._

Allen saw this but was currently being pinned down by a large mecha looking level two akuma.

_Crap!_ he aimed his gun canon arm up at the level two and fired, but missed,

"Wow...you're not a good shot are you?" it mocked with a laugh, not knowing that Allen had just sent out a beacon to the others.

Sure enough, they all saw the shot in the sky.

"That's it. I'm going. Lavi!"

"Roger! Now boarding!"

Like clockwork, Krory jumped onto the hammer and Lavi swung as hard as he could, rocketing the vampire exorcist into the fray.

As his flight was coming to an end, he saw Allen stuck with a level two and Miranda backed up against a wall with a line of akuma canons aimed straight at her. He knew he was too high up for neither of them to see him. Yet he still clearly heard her scream before being devoured in a shower of bullets.

"K-K-K-KRORY!!"

"Miranda!" Krory swooped down and sliced through the group of akuma that were too busy firing at her.

Allen panicked and shot the level two right in the eyes to stun it for a moment. It stumbled enough for him to break free and quickly take out the remaining distracted akuma.  
With the akuma gone, the firing stopped.

Miranda stood frozen for a moment, the impact of the blast caused her to back into the wall a few inches causing an indent. There were holes all over her body and soon she felt the poison creep around her wounds and into her. She finally let the box drop after so long of holding onto it and fell over like a limp rag doll.

The moment Krory landed on solid ground he ran over to her, he knelt by her side and held her in his arms carefully.

"M-Miranda! Wake up! Miranda!" he shook her gently.

Her breath was short and weak, her eyes loosing life and she stopped moving. Soon black stars began to appear on her neck and face.

Krory bit his lip and looked up to find Allen, help, anything. But he was busy fighting off the level two from before.

It still made him nervous, to bite one of his friends. But he didn't have a choice if he wanted to save her.

He whispered apologies as he reached in and moved the collar of her shirt to expose her throat; his fangs suddenly began to itch.

He finally leaned in and sunk his fangs into her throat; she let out a weak whimper in pain when he pierced through her skin. He wanted to pull away but found himself latched to her neck when he tasted fresh akuma poison blood in his mouth and it was good…really good.

Somehow it was different than the last time he did this to Lavi, whether he knew it or not, Krory became more possessive by holding her close while his other hand carefully held her head, tilting it enough to give him more access to her neck.

He purred and took in full gulps, the black stars on her skin slowly began to move towards the wound he created, he was literally sucking the poison away.

Allen and the level two froze in mid-fight and watched.

"...Whoa..." Allen went pale.

"And you exorcists call us monsters!"

"..." Allen looked up at the akuma and glared at it.

"HI BAN!"

Allen yelped and jumped back, away from the akuma he was conversing with that suddenly burst into a cyclone of flames.

"Hey Allen! Pay attention! I can't save you all the time!" Lavi grinned, resting the giant hammer on his shoulder.

"Sorry but…I didn't know Krory could do that" he pointed to the vampire exorcist who had had his fangs still in Miranda's throat.

Lavi turned white and shuddered, he even turned around to look away," Y-yes…he can do that…and I'm still traumatized"

"It's a useful technique, and he saved your life" Bookman grumbled.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT! HE FREAKING BIT ME!" Lavi screamed and pointed an accusing finger at the short man.

Lavi's yelling brought Krory back into reality, he quickly let her go and wiped his mouth.

"M-Miranda?" he shook her gently again.

She groaned a bit before her eyes fluttered open," Huh…K-Krory?"

"MIRANDA!" he hugged her tight in pure joy.

The others ran over to the two. Krory held her close and cried crocodile tears, it took Miranda a moment to realize what was going on but she smiled nervously as he rambled.

"OhGodIthoughtyoudiedandIwastoolateI'msogladyou'reokI'mreallysorryIbityou!"

Miranda blinked at the last comment.

"Vait…you vat?" she looked up at him.

Krory froze up," Um…"

"It's ok! You see, he can take the akuma poison out of your body before it kills you. He did it to me before!" Lavi tried to cover up for Krory, but she had a blank expression on her face as she reached up and touched her throat, she could felt indents in her skin.

"…Krory…did you bite me?" she asked calmly and plainly, it scared him.

"Well…I…um…" he stammered,"y-yes…"

"Und…you drank my blood?"

"I-I um…"

The three other males in the group wisely stayed out of this one.

"Krory…"

"Yes…" it was almost a whisper.

Moments of silence passed until she turned pure white and flopped over like a fish.

"DAH! Miranda!" Krory panicked held her and shook her.

"Did she just faint?" Allen peaked over his shoulder.

"Yea…I wish I could've done that too" Lavi crossed his arms and nodded.

"Miranda! Miranda! Wake up! I'm sooooooorrrrrrry!"

* * *

Ideas would be nice!

Next time: Our two heroes play a friendly game of checkers. But it becomes more than just a game when they begin to open up more to each other.

Review please!

SWD


	3. King me

Disclaimer: Do not own DGrayman!

Review please!

Enjoy

* * *

Krory was in a bit of a pickle.

He stood right outside his bedroom door with a puzzled look on his face. In his hands were a large stack of rectangular boxes; he was even using his chin to keep the stack in his grasp.

Now...how to get inside...

He carefully walked up and tried to turn the handle of his own door with his elbow, but his hands were so full he couldn't bend his arms enough.

"Hm... No that won't do..." he said to himself, once again staring at the door.

He sighed and tried something else. This time he turned a bit so he had more access when he lifted his leg and tried to open it with his foot. It appeared to be working, the handlebar seemed to be turning but hallway through his foot slipped and got stuck in-between the door and the handle.

"...Oops" he blinked at his misfortune.

He tugged on his foot taken hostage by his own door. In doing so he began to loose his balance, he hopped on the one foot he had free to try and regain his balance but then the box on the top began to slide away. He saw this and right before it fell he caught it with his teeth in mid-air then pressed his face against the stack to prevent it from happening again.

Yes. Krory was indeed in a pickle.

But luckily, his new friend Miranda was returning from the training room and turned the corner in his time of need.

They froze in place the moment their eyes met.

"Erm...halp?" he said as best he could with a box in his mouth.

"Dah! Krory vat happened? Are you ok!?" she said in a panic, rushing to his side.

Krory smiled nervously, or tried to, and nodded," Yesh puhleash"

She looked over his situation stammering to herself, not quite sure where to start.

"Uh…vow…. um…how did…ok lets see…." she decided to start with his foot.

She tried turning the handle but opened the door out of pure habit, pulling poor Krory with it, causing him to loose balance and trip onto Miranda. She, not expecting to be toppled on, also lost her balance and the two fell inside of his room. The boxes fell over and opened, spilling its contents everywhere around them.

"Ow…" she mumbled, slightly dizzy from the sudden fall.

"Oush…mah footsh…" Krory has accidently bit down on the box as he was holding in his mouth as he fell. A chunk of the box was now in his mouth, like out of those silly American cartoons.

Realizing this, he spat out whatever was in his mouth, which were pieces of the box, cards and board game pieces.

"Yuck" he growled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Miranda blinked and watched the cards that he spat out float to the floor.

"Huh? Vat is all this?" She looked around herself," Cards, timers, buzzers, and pieces?" she picked up a silver piece that looked like a shoe and stared at it with confusion.

"Oh! These are all board games!" he said with excitement in his voice.

"Board games?"

"Yes…you see…oh…. wait…" he stopped himself.

He looked down and she looked up over her shoulder.

Both were a little too caught up in their conversation to realize that he was completely on top of her from the fall.

Miranda blushed furiously; coming back from the training room she was just in a simple tank top and didn't expect to see anyone. The shy German girl was still nervous around men, regardless of age or if she was friends with them like Krory and the others, and being subconscious about…well everything about herself, this was way more exposed skin than she was use to showing.

"Gah! I'm really sorry!" he quickly jumped up and helped her up.

"Oh n-nein its ok!" she stammered, still blushing, crossing her arms in a weak attempt to cover herself.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry for all the trouble, I just wanted to put these games in my room"

Miranda brushed off the cards and pieces that stuck to her skin lightly.

"Games…oh!" she looked down on the ground," Ve left a bit of a mess…"she bent down and picked up one box that looked like a shark had taken a bite out of it.

"That…I um…I fell…" he laughed at himself.

She smiled at him," Vell zats alright…ve don't be playing…um" she titled the box a bit to see the title, "Monopoly"

They both laughed and started to clean up, putting everything in the right place.

He watched her from the corner of his eye as they cleaned, she was more petite than he imagined, small and fragile almost.

" Operation Sorry, Trouble, Chess, Othello and…Mouse trap…" Miranda blinked at the instructions and the colorful pieces that went with the game…all 32 pieces of it.

"I've never heard of most of zese"

"Me neither, but the science department was going to get rid of them because pieces were missing" he said while closing the box to one game.

"Pieces zat go missing make an entire game useless…" she seemed to be talking to herself.

"But I always wanted to play, I can't let a few missing pieces stop me" he smiled big.

"But…how?" she asked, his enthusiasm drew her in and made her curious.

He opened his mouth to answer but nothing he come, he quickly closed it and held his chin in thought," Hmm…well…oh wait! We could use these!" he took the colored pieces of the game "Sorry!" and put them on his bed.

"Then use this!" he picked up a checkers board.

"Oh I get it! A compromise!" she smiled, now excited.

He looked at their new creation of checkers then at Miranda.

"Um…do…would you…like to play?" he asked gently.

"Really…?" her eyes beamed with joy.

"Of course, can't play a board game by myself" he paused to think for a moment," Well…I guess you could…it would just be really hard…"

"True…" she joined in thinking.

A moment passed.

"Oh right! Sorry!" he ran about his room grabbing a chair and small table, setting up the game.

As he did this, she took this moment to look around. There were random knick-knacks, souvenirs, toys and everything in-between. Antique masks were, poorly, hung on the wall, as were some cheap copies of famous pieces of artwork. She smiled to herself; he was…an interesting person to say the least. Finally her eyes fell on top of his drawers where a random assortment of student animals were, most with little t-shirts with the name of where he went such as Cambodia or Italy. The centerpiece to all of this madness was a tiny thin glass vase with just enough water to sustain the rose inside. She stared at it for a moment, it was in full bloom and beautiful, he seemed like a very gentle kind of man and wasn't so surprised to see it in here. Yet she felt like there was a deeper meaning behind the single rose in his room.

She didn't notice him watching her carefully.

"You're…some kind of collector?" she asked, poking a bobble head on another table, watching it dance.

"You can say that, runs in the family I guess" he sat on the edge of his bed, waiting.

"Runs in the family?" she turned and found him there with a table and a chair for her. Their cheap game of checkers was composed of half of the original black and red pieces along with the small red and green cone looking pieces of "Sorry!".

She took her seat, he already moved.

"Runs in the family?" she went.

"Yes, as far as I know we all love to collect valuable things like antiques, especially my grandfather" he took his green piece and moved away from her red piece.

"Zat must have been an interesting place to live in"

"Well…sort of…" he moved a green piece and hopped over her red one and took it hostage.

"Sort of?" she looked up at him but he kept his eyes on the game.

"Everything in that place was my grandfathers and I took care of them. I didn't have anything that was my own"

"Oh…I'm sorry"

"It's fine now, but you can see why I've been going a little crazy on the collecting"

"I see, to make up for lost time?"

He nodded," and…I'm running out of room…"

She laughed, her piece hopping over two of his. She took those and he blinked in surprise but tried to shake it off.

"What about you?"

"Hm? Me? You mean hobbies?"

He nodded.

"Vell…I don't really zink I have a hobby" she laughed at herself, "I guess I'm too afraid I vould mess up if I did do somezing"

She stopped to think of what kind of mess she would make if she were a painter or like models or something. Most hobbies require a steady hand, patience and the ability to not trip over your own feet.

"Are you that afraid of messing up that you won't even try?"

"No…vell…it depends…I try but in the end I'm still afraid of failing miserably" she hopped over another piece of his and took it "King me"

Krory bit his lip from grumbling and placed one of her old pieces he took prisoner on top of her pieces in his territory.

"Vat about you?"

"Hm?"

"Vat are you afraid of? Aside from loud noises und zings jumping out at you"

He smiled inwardly," To put it simply, myself"

She cocked her head to the side in confusion; it reminded him of a dog trying to understand what a human was saying. It was kind of cute.

"Vat do you mean?"

"Well…being seen as a monster, vampire, or something non human. It scares me because then I begin to wonder what I really am. Just about everyone has looked at me like I was something else, even you"

She bit her lip slightly, the day they "met" on the train…she couldn't help but be frightened at the sight of his fangs.

"I-I…but…I…um…I'm…" she suddenly felt small and very ashamed.

Krory realized he might have gone a little too far and quickly put his hands up in defense," But its ok, I'm used to it, though it still bothers me…" he mumbled the last part.

"It shouldn't. Its not like it's your fault" she tried to help, its what the other would most likely say or do.

"Neither should failure bother you"

She was silent.

"Point taken…" she blushed and looked away for a moment, a little embarrassed.

"Besides, if you truly were a failure you wouldn't be here…beating me at checkers…"

"Eh?" she finally looked down; sure enough Krory only had two pieces left on his side and most of her own army still intact.

"Vow…" she blinked, was she even really paying attention to this game?

"Y-yea…" Krory scratched the back of his head, just as confused as she was.

"V-vell…I suppose zat's one zing I don't fail at…sorry"

"We're playing Chess next time" there was a playful annoyance in his voice, a little upset that he was utterly destroyed at checkers.

The two stood up and began to clean again; Miranda went over and picked up another game board box.

"But only if ve can play zis one after!" she held up the game called "Sorry!"

"It sounds like our kind of game doesn't it?" he laughed," That sounds like fun, but we definitely have to figure this one out" he opened the box to "Mouse Trap".

Miranda peaked over his shoulder, all the confusing and colored pieces in the box made her nervous.

"Going through all of these games will take awhile, but we have enough time right?"

"Of course! Like after ve come back from a mission I don't really do anyzing"

"That's great! We can meet in here and play then?"

What was it with him and that cheesy smile of his? It was contagious. She couldn't help but be excited as well.

"Ja! I had a lot of fun, I'd love to do it again vith you"

He blinked," Really? I know we just mostly talked but…"

"Ve did talk a lot but I feel better. Don't you?" she asked.

He stopped for a moment, realizing just now that he seemed happier with himself after spilling his feelings to her.

"Hey you're right!" he smiled big.

His smile…again…

"Besides, I zink us crybabies should stick togezer!" she brought up her hand and gave him a small "thumbs up".

He stared at her for a moment, he bit his lip and felt his eyes ting, threatening to spill tears. She let out a small yelp of surprise when he suddenly hugged her in a friendly embrace.

"Thank you…" he whispered.

She blushed a bit; normally she would be panicking about now. Being so close to a male. But she felt comfortable and if anything, safe. She encircled her arms around him as well, returning the hug.

He was right, she was so small in his arms, he was almost afraid he was going to break her. He opened his eyes and looked down at her, only to be face to face with the bite mark he had left her a few days ago to save her life. Yet it still…bothered him…

She felt his grip loosen, she almost felt sad to feel the greatest hug she had ever had in her life end.

"I…Miranda…um…about…. the other day…when I…um…" he stammered, she looked up at him but he kept his eyes on her shoulder.

She knew what he was looking at, she could've asked for makeup or some kind of cover up to hide it. But she didn't, she was glad to see it every day since then. He saved her life.

"Krory…" she reached up and covered the mark on her, getting his attention. She looked at him straight in the eyes and blurted out what she really thought about him.

"You're not a monster. You're my friend."

She hugged him again and he returned it. Both crying for themselves and for the other.

* * *

Swd


	4. Time's Comfort

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Review please!

* * *

"Is she back yet?"

"No"

"…How about now?"

"Krory…no…"

He sighed and plopped down on a chair in the corner of the Komui's office watching them work.

"What about now? Is Miranda back yet?"

Reever looked up from the pile of papers he was attempting to organize, Krory looked like an overly excited puppy waiting for his owner to return home.

"No! I told you she was on her way two hours ago!" he growled in annoyance," Go wait for your girlfriend somewhere else!"

Krory's jaw dropped," M-my what?!"

"Aw don't be so mean Reever, I think it's cute!" Komui grinned from ear to ear, sipping his coffee that Lenalee had just delivered.

"S-she's not my girlfriend!" he stood up, his face deep red, from blushing or in anger no one could really tell, "We're just really good friends!"

"Sure…" Reever rolled his eyes.

"Really!" Krory stood up and growled," Fine I'll leave!" he stomped off. They all watched him go, nearly breaking the door when he slammed it shut behind him.

Reever sighed in relief," Hey, are they really together?" he asked Lenalee, who came back and gave him his coffee.

"No, they're just best friends"

"Are you sure? The only time I've ever seen one of them alone is when the other is on a mission like now" Komui sipped his coffee, which was almost gone now.

"Well yes, they've been with each other for a while now but I think it's good don't you?" Johnny piped up suddenly," They're both alike and are the only ones that understand each other. Cause we sure don't!" he laughed.

"That's tru-" Reever was caught off by the sound of the main screen beeping.

"Oh! Hey guys she's here!" Tapp waved to the others and pointed at the screen.

"Well what do ya know, she is…hey wait…Supervisor! There's a Finder missing!" Johnny called out.

"Yes…I know…" Komui sighed," We lost one in battle"

Lenalee walked over and looked at the screen, Miranda had her head down while Lavi appeared to be trying to talk to her only to have the Bookman scold him.

"Oh…that can't be good…"

* * *

"Miranda! C'mon! It wasn't your fault!" Lavi followed her to the hallway leading to her room, he went on trying to convince her that the death of the Finder wasn't her fault but she ignored him.

"Lavi! Give it a rest!" Bookman growled.

"What? It's true! You can't hold your Innocence that long and with that kind of attack! No one could besides he kne-"

"Lavi…" she cut him off, it was almost a whisper. He stayed quiet.

"Could you please report in for me?"

"But- OW!" Lavi winced as the Bookman smacked him over the head.

"Yes we will, please get some rest Miranda," he said with a polite smile with Lavi in a chokehold.

She put on a fake smile and silently went into her room.

Lenalee watched this from the floor above, she was right, Miranda would blame herself and hide in her room. She bit her lip and decided that it was best to leave it to Krory this time, and ran off to find him.

* * *

"Knock knock"

"Krory?" she peaked in his slightly opened door, he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling with "Connect Four" waiting on the floor.

"Hm?" he jumped up, thinking it was Miranda but couldn't help but look slightly disappointed when Lenalee walked in.

"Oh…hello Lenalee"

"Krory, she came back," she said immediately, knowing what he wanted.

"She is?" he looked confused, usually she would come straight here.

"Yes but…we lost a Finder and…"

"Where is she?" he stood up, he knew what that meant.

"Her room, please talk to her"

"Thank you Lenalee!" he said before running off.

She watched him take off like there was no tomorrow; she smiled a bit…then looked around the hallway to see if there was anyone else around. There wasn't anyone out now and she silently followed him, letting her curiosity get the best of her. Best friends…she really didn't think so, but there was only one way to find out!

* * *

He stopped in front of her door, he could hear her small sniffling from inside. He felt all of excitement be replaced with gloom and sadness; he hated it when she cried…it just…

"Miranda?" he called out gently, while tapping on the door.

Nothing.

He tried again," Miranda…are you ok?"

He pressed his ear against the door, she was whimpering something…it sounded like words but he couldn't tell through the door. He sighed and took a hold of the doorknob, luckily it was unlocked.

At that exact moment he began to open the door, something happened and now he could hear her.

"Innocence Activate…"

Suddenly golden rings he recognized as apart of her Innocence ability appeared, encircling the room, door, and him.

"Time Stop!"

There was a bright light, he winced and held up his free arm to block his face. A moment passed and the light disappeared. He blinked, the gold rings kept a constant spin around the door and as he peaked inside, there were larger golden rings all around her room.

He looked behind him and found everything in black and white. Lenalee, who was hiding behind the corner of the hallway, was frozen in place. Time really did stop, yet he was caught in the Innocence activation.

Her ability was truly amazing…she created her own world, her own bubble away from everyone else.

"Miranda…Miranda…unlucky Miranda…" she sang in between her cries and whimpers," Don't be so gloomy you stupid looney, looking for a job today? You'll be fired soon anyway…"

"Miranda please stop…" he finally said, walking in and closing the door behind him. He found her sitting on her bed, clutching a pillow like it was a life-line in the darkness of her room

"K-Krory?" she gasped, quickly burying her face in the pillow and wiping her face clean to hide herself.

"V-vat are you doing here…how?" she looked around the room and at the Time Record, which floated in the middle of the room spinning constantly to keep Miranda's portal of time alive.

"I was touching the door when you activated it, sorry about that…"

"Oh…" she sat quietly, looking away. Now what? She created Time Stop to get away from everything and everyone…

"I was told you came home but you didn't come by, I got worried" he grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed.

"What happened? Are you ok?"

"…I…just…I don't…" she held her pillow closer. Now she was stuck. Although he was her friend if not her best friend…she didn't feel like talking…but…

Miranda looked from the corner of her eyes to see him. His eyes screamed, 'Please let me help'

She took a deep breath," Our Finders vere wounded, I vas suppose to protect zem…but…I couldn't…" she bit her lip and buried her face in her pillow, her shoulder shook violently as she tried desperately to hold in her cries.

"If I vasn't such….such a coward..." she mumbled, letting her feelings pour out in front of him but she couldn't stop," If I vasn't such a failure…zen…maybe….maybe…"

He didn't say anything; he silently stood up and sat next to her on the bed. She didn't seem to notice, or really care that he was that close to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into him and he wrapped the other arm around her, holding her close.

"It's ok…"

That was it. Two words.

All this time, most of her life she was given speeches of hope, words of encouragement and anything else to cheer her up. Yet none of them helped, she shrugged them off with a fake smile.

"It's going to be ok" that was all he said and the dam broke.

Miranda wept, crying out all of her pain and sorrow for the lost Finder she could've saved. He held her close as she cried onto his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she whimpered over and over again.

He didn't say anything, he just let her cry and she was grateful for that somehow.

She froze up when she felt something dropped on her shoulder. She opened her foggy eyes and turned to see a small wet spot on her shirt.

"…Krory?"

"I don't like to see you sad…" he sniffled a little.

He was crying…with her?

"V-vat?"

"It makes me sad to see you so sad"

She was speechless.

She looked up at him and he looked down. He had his goofy smile but with tears streaking his face as if he were the one in distress.

"It's silly I know, but it is sad to see you like this"

His smile. What was it about his smile that just made everything better?

"Thank you…so much…" she finally hugged him back, her sniffles coming back but feeling much better since he was there.

He hugged her back, resting his cheek on top of her head. He knew what it was like to be so sad, regardless of the reason, and he always wanted to have someone to give him a hug. It should be no different for her.

"Innocence…deactivate"

* * *

As Lenalee snuck around the corner, following Krory, she noticed something strange. As he opened the door, he suddenly disappeared.

She gasped," What on earth…" she ran over to the door, which was now closed.

Did something happen?

She reached for the door handle and slowly opened it, she was just being a good friend, and making sure everyone was ok. That's all. Really.

She peaked her head in and peered into the darkness, so far she could only see Miranda's Time Record lying in the middle of the floor. She opened the door all the way and went inside quietly.

"Hello? Mirand-" she stopped herself and froze in mid step.

There on the bed was Krory, sleeping soundly on his back with his arm around Miranda's waist, also sleeping, on top of his chest, clutching his shirt.

Best friends? Now she really wasn't so sure.

Lenalee slowly backed away; fearing one of them would wake and see her. It was best she kept this to herself until she knew for sure what was going on but now wasn't the time for that. She left and gently closed the door before briskly walking away.

Moments later it was Miranda who was the first to wake, at first she yawned and unconsciously snuggled closer to her source of warmth.

But as if someone dumped a bucket of ice cold water on her head, her eyes snapped opened in realization that her pillow of choice was breathing. She froze up, feeling his hand on her waist pull her a little closer.

_OhGottOhGottOhGottOhGottOhGottOhGott_ her mind raced.

She's never had him…wait…she's never had any male this close to her…ever and to have him touch her like this…it was just too much to take.

_But…he didn't mean it, ve fell asleep, his hand slipped…besides…he's not __zat kind of guy…_ she took a deep breath, trying to rethink everything.

Though she didn't move, she stayed on his chest and still clutching his shirt, listening to him breathe softly. She sighed, well…it wasn't bad or anything…she didn't move because it was nice.

_Maybe zis isn't so bad…_

But what happens when he wakes up?

_OhGottOhGottOhGottOhGott _she became nervous again.

Finally, after arguing with herself for awhile, she slowly lifted her head and turned to look at him.

He was out like a light, he mumbled something, which caused her to go pale and freeze, thinking he was about to wake up, but he just yawned and fell right back asleep.

_Heavy sleeper…zank Gott…_ she sighed in relief and sat up silently. Now what?

She stared at him for a moment.

His long bangs clung to his face as he slept, she wondered how he could breathe from under it. She bit her lip, it was there…in his face…begging for it to be moved.

Before she knew it, she was reaching out with a very shaky hand and gently brushing his bangs out of his face.

He was actually…kind of cute.

He just laid there, sleeping peacefully with his mouth partly open due to some of his mumbling he did every once and awhile. She smiled sadly at the dried tears on his face, if anyone knew how to cry, it was Krory, and he really didn't hold back when he cried with her.

"Danke…" she whispered before withdrawing her hand, letting his bangs fall back into place.

She yawned, though she stopped time and it was still early in the evening, it felt like hours in her own time bubble not to mention she kept it up for so long.

Nothing to do but go back to sleep, she carefully slid back into her place next to him, though the bed creaked and squeaked her every moment and every noise she froze in place, making sure he didn't wake. But it didn't even faze him; she sighed in relief and gently placed her head on his chest like before.

"Arystar…Krory…" she unconsciously mumbled, lingering in-between consciousness and sleep. She could faintly hear his heart thump against his chest, it slowly lured her back to sleep before she mumbled to herself," I zink…I love you…"

* * *

Danke - Thank you

SWD


	5. Eliade

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!

PLEASE REVIEW!!

* * *

Luckily, Miranda woke up first in the morning and nearly jumped out of her skin in the process when she found herself closer to Krory than she remembered.

Now lying on his side, he has his arms completely around her, holding her like a child would to a stuffed toy. She blushed deeply, after making the decision that she had fallen for her fellow exorcist, their current position made her heart want to jump out of her chest and run away.

She gulped, there had to be a way out, she just couldn't face him yet.

_He's…a heavy sleeper…_ she remembered, last night he wouldn't budge though she was awake, _Maybe…_

She took a deep breath like she was going underwater and carefully slid out of his grasp. He didn't move, his arms fell to the side like nothing had happened. She reached the bottom of the bed and sat up, sighing in relief.

Taking a moment to recollect herself, she quietly stepped off of the bed. Keeping her eyes on him for any movement of any kind. Once she stood on her own two feet, she sighed again. One step at a time, and he was still asleep.

She turned and headed towards her drawers to change but her foot was caught underneath her small rug and promptly tripped and fell over flat on her face in a true Miranda Lotto style.

"Ow…" she mumbled, sitting up and rubbing her forehead.

Krory turned to lie on his stomach and bury his face in the pillow. Still asleep.

She watched him carefully as he moved, _Zis is stressful…_ she thought to herself, letting out the air she was apparently holding in.

Carefully standing up, she tiptoed her way to the dresser, pulling out some new clothes.

Then she paused.

She needed to change…but he was in the room…what if he woke up and saw her while she was nearly naked!

Her mind went into a panic, _Oh…now vat?_ during all of this over thinking, she wasn't paying attention and accidentally closed the drawer on her fingers.

"Yeowch!" she yelped out loud, then immediately slapped her good hand over her mouth; horrified she turned to see if Krory had woken up to her screaming.

No. Still asleep.

She bit her lip, he wasn't even facing her direction…

Miranda took a deep breath, she didn't have much of a choice.

As quickly and silently as possible, she slipped out of her shirt and into her new one, while thinking to herself, _Please don't vake up, please don't vake up, please don't vake up please don't vake up_

Luckily he didn't for the first half of her task, but her bad luck came back, again, and when she couldn't quite get her other foot into her pants.

_uh…oh…_she hopped around struggling to regain her balance and put her pants on. She didn't last long before finally tipped over again. This time around her head came in contact with the base of her old grandfather clock. The same one in which her Innocence was forged from, after much begging and crying Komui rebuilt it after tearing it apart to create her anti-akuma weapon. Now it was a fully functional clock, with the bells and chimes too.

"OW!" she yelped, curling into a semi fetal position on the floor, holding her head.

The clock chimed loudly, like it was also in pain from the sudden fall.

Miranda sat up quickly, placed her hands on the clock, trying to shush it from ringing.

"Shh…! Please don't not now!" she whispered harshly at it.

Moments passed and it fell silent. She let out a sigh of relief, again. But froze in place when she heard him grumble. She slowly turned in horror, fearing to find him rudely awaken.

Instead he just rolled over in his sleep, now with the pillow on top of his head.

Heavy sleeper wasn't enough to describe it, she was half tempted to go over there and poke to make sure he wasn't dead.

She decided against it and slipped her pants on, grabbed her shoes and bolted out the door. If she stayed any longer who knows what else could go wrong.

But before she closed the door behind her, she peaked in for one last glance at him.

Still asleep.

She smiled and gently closed it.

* * *

Linalee finally took a break from sorting out her brother's mountain of outdated books and papers he called a desk and headed towards the cafeteria. After getting her food she turned to find a place to eat until she spotted Miranda all by her lonesome.

Although it wasn't surprising, she was usually by herself but something just seemed different about her today.

Miranda just sat there, staring into oblivion and poking at her cereal, which was now beyond soggy and inedible. She was far enough into her day dreaming to not notice Linalee taking a seat directly across from her.

"Um…good morning Miranda" she tried, the older woman jumped slightly after being brought back in reality.

"O-oh! Linalee good morning! I'm sorry I vas dozing off" Miranda apologized quickly.

"It's alright…though you seem very distracted today, are you ok?"

Miranda blushed a bit, "Actually…I've never been better!"

Linalee hid her smile behind the glass of juice, she meant to drink but watching Miranda get so flustered was too cute to pass up.

"Oh? Is that so?" she played along.

"Yes…um" Miranda poked at her food again," Actually I've been meaning to ask you somezing…" Her blush grew a deeper shade of red," But its a little embarrassing since I'm older but…"

Linalee was leaning forward, making sure she didn't miss anything Miranda had to say.

"Yes what is it?"

"Have…you ever been in lo-"

"Hello ladies!" Lavi cut in suddenly with Allen close behind.

"Oh! Good morning boys" Miranda greeted.

"Hello…" while Linalee did her best not to look annoyed with them.

"Hey, have you seen Kuro-chan? He's not in his room"

Miranda nearly choked on her milk, Linalee froze up at her reaction.

_He's still in her room?!_

"I-I…um…zink he vent for a valk…or…somezing…" she stammered, not a good liar but luckily they bought it.

"Again? Poor guy…" Allen sighed.

"Yea, and he was doing so well for the past few weeks. I actually thought he had gotten over her for sure this time!" Lavi crossed his arms and grumbled.

Both Miranda and Linalee exchanged confused glances.

"'Got over her'? Who are you talking about?"

"Oh yea that's right! You two weren't there!" Lavi took a seat next to Miranda," Well you see Kuro-chan had a girlfriend but she was an akuma and he was forced to kill her in the end"

The two girls gasped.

"Oh no…that's horrible" Linalee glanced over at the other girl, who looked like her soul just flew away.

"That's why he gets sad all the time, but he was doing fine for awhile…hm…what was her name again Allen?"

Allen poked his chin in thought," Let's see…Eli…Eliade?"

"Yea! That's right! She was quite the looker too!" Lavi grinned.

Ignoring his comment, the young exorcist couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Aw poor Krory…but that sure does explain a lot doesn't it…right Miranda?" she tried getting Miranda involved in the conversation, making sure she was still alive.

"She…vas…pretty?" she asked, quietly, like each word was forced out of her throat painfully.

"Beautiful! Gorgeous! Blue eyes, blonde hair, big lips. He has great tastes in women lemme tell ya!"

Linalee mentally slapped her forehead, Lavi and his big mouth was going to send Miranda and her low self-esteem off the cliff of the Black Order HQ.

"She also tried to kill you Lavi…" Allen quickly added.

"That's not the point! The point is-"

Miranda stood up, unable to take it anymore," I'm sorry…excuse me…" she hid her face behind her bangs. Her voice was low, straining to keep from falling apart in front of them.

"Miranda…"

Despite Linalee's weak protest, she left. Lavi and Allen were left blinking in confusion.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lavi asked innocently.

"Lavi…just stop talking" she mumbled before taking off after Miranda.

The two boys watched them leave, still confused as ever.

"Did we miss something?" Allen scratched the back of his head.

But Lavi just shrugged," Eh. Women"

* * *

"Miranda wait!" Linalee called out, trailing behind her broken hearted friend.

But she just ignored her, Miranda kept on walking towards her room, knowing that she could cry in peace with her time bubble, she just needed to get there…

"I know about you and Krory!" she finally blurted out.

That got her attention.

Miranda immediately stopped in her tracks, whipped around, revealing her bright red face.

"V-vat…."

"I was the one that sent Krory after you last night and…I…um" she poked her fingers together," I kind of…peaked in…"

"VAT?!"

Linalee flinched, well she kind of deserved that.

"I-I'm sorry! I was just making sure you were ok! I didn't mean it I swear!"

Miranda was now pacing around in a circle in front of her, grabbing her own hair in frustration, stress and nervousness.

"Oh Gott…please tell me you're ze only one zat knows!" she panicked.

"Well…yes…but most of us were already suspected something was going on" she paused, "ok… except Lavi and Allen"

Miranda whimpered," Nozing is going on…it's just…me…"

Linalee stayed quiet for a moment, trying to put the pieces together.

"You…haven't told him?"

She shook her head, leaning against the cold wall and staring at the floor.

"And that thing about Krory's old girlfriend…"

"He never told me anyzing about zat…I don't zink I can tell him now…but…but I…I..." Miranda's legs became weak and she slowly slid to the floor in an emotional mess, "Linalee vat am I suppose to do…?"

She whimpered, and fought tears but they came anyway. Linalee knelt in front of her.

"I think you should talk to him"

Her head snapped back up," Vat? No I can't!"

"You won't know the truth about anything until you talk to him about it, don't base everything on what Lavi says...Especially what ever Lavi says!"

"I…don't know…" she looked away.

"C'mon Miranda, you finally found someone that made you happy after all your life being miserable. You can't let this pass over an old dead girlfriend"

She stayed quiet for a moment, like she was thinking.

"OY!! KURO CHAN!"

Both girls jumped up at Lavi's loud mouth.

"Oh, hey Lavi. Sorry I couldn't make it today"

Miranda and Linalee exchanged glances and quickly stood up, heading towards the railing. Krory was on the floor below them, about to go into his room when Lavi and Allen caught up with him.

"It's alright man. We'll try again tomorrow" Lavi gave him a pat on the back.

"You just hang in there ok?" Allen gave him a thumbs up.

Krory blinked in confusion but smiled brightly and went along with it.

"Alright, see you guys later"

The two girls above watched Lavi and Allen leave as Krory went inside his room. Miranda let out a huge sigh of relief, and buried her face in her hands.

"Oh Gott I totally forgot he vas still in my room…" she whined.

"But now he's not!" Linalee took her hand," Now's your chance to talk to him! Lets go!"

"Dah! Linalee vait!" she protested as her friend, who seemed very excited to play matchmaker, dragged her.

Soon they were in front of his door, Miranda stood there frozen.

"Well?"

"Y-you know maybe he's gone to sleep….so ve should come back later…" she said, laughing nervously while walking away.

"Oooh no you don't!" Linalee, grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her back.

"L-Linalee! I can't!"

Ignoring her cries, the young matchmaker knocked on the door.

"Hm? Hello?" Krory called out from within.

"Go knock em dead" Linalee smiled, opening the door and pushing Miranda inside.

"Dah! Vait!"

She stumbled a bit but regained her balance as the door closed behind her.

"Um…Miranda?"

She froze and looked up. He was standing by his dresser, tending to his long rose.

"O-oh! Hello Krory…erm...fancy seeing you here!" She laughed pathetically," V-vell…vait…of course...I mean its your room…"

It was quiet as they both stared at each other for a moment.

"Hello Miranda" he tried to start over, fighting off a smile. She could be so silly sometimes…

"Hi Krory" she went along.

"I actually was hoping I could see you"

Her eyes brightened," Really?"

"Yes, about last night…"

Her heart stopped as flashbacks of him holding her made her cheeks burn.

"J-j-j-ja?"

"I wanted to apologize for falling asleep in your room, I didn't mean to" she rubbed the back of his head.

"OH! Zat!" her heart came back to life," It's alright! I actually vanted to zank you for zat. I vas really upset und you helped me a lot, zank you so much" she smiled big.

"I'm glad you're ok now though, that was a pretty stressful night for you" he smiled back.

Again with his smile. She blushed," J-ja…zank you…"

She was sure by now her face was about as red as a tomato. She needed a change of subject and quick before she made a fool of herself.

"I-I-I….um…"

"Yes?"

Her eyes darted around the room until she saw him holding his rose. Suddenly her fear and nervousness was replaced with curiosity. He handled the rose like it was glass, fragile and dangerous.

"I've been vondering about zat…" she said, almost absent mindedly. He followed her eyes to the rose in his hands.

"Hm?"

"I remember you telling me about your grandfazers flowers" she started, now standing next to him to get a better look," Is zis like a reminder of home?"

He smiled sadly," No…a reminder of someone"

Bingo. She now remembered why she was in here in the first place.

"Eliade?"

She knew she was right by the way he stiffened and looked away from the rose he was being so careful with.

"…yes…" he responded quietly.

"Krory?"

"Who…told you?"

"I over heard ze guys talking about it…" she couldn't believe the complete change in him just by mentioning this girl.

"Who vas she?"

He paused for a moment, gently stroking the peddles thoughtfully.

"At the time, my only friend" he smiled and blushed a bit, "and companion"

"I see…" she watched him carefully, "She must have been special…if you still tzink about her"

He nodded," She was…you can think of it…kind of like your clock"

"My…clock?"

"It was your only friend, the only thing that understood you and didn't leave your side. She was like that to me"

"Oh…" she thought about it for a moment, then gasped," I don't know vat I vould do if I lost my clock!"

She looked up at him and fought tears," Oh Krory zat's horrible! I'm so sorry!"

He turned to face her, she sniffled. Although he was only making a comparison, it hit home. She truly did understand how he felt.

She wiped her face," Um…vat happened to her?"

"I killed her" he stated while placed the rose back in its small vase and picking it up. "She was an akuma and when I found out she tried to kill me" he walked over to the windowsill and placed the rose in the sunlight.

"Vhy…vat did she want? It doesn't make any sense"

"From what I know, she wanted to love. But akuma only live to destroy. When she found me…she couldn't kill me, but I don't know everything. I've thought about it a lot and I can't help but feel depressed" he sighed but faced her again with a small smile.

"But ever since we became friends I haven't thought about it as much. So maybe I'll forget soon…"

"Nein! You shouldn't forget her!" she suddenly exclaimed.

Krory stared at her, confused. She blushed, that was a little bit too loud.

"Vell…I mean…she vas important to you…I zink you should never forget but don't let it make you so sad…"

She walked up to him, and her mouth moved on its own. She just stopped thinking and let her feelings do the work. (Because if she was in her right mind she would have never really done this)

She reached up and placed her hand over his heart.

"Besides…I've heard zat you can never forget your first love, so you can't even if you tried" she looked up at him and smiled.

She felt his heart pick up the pace beneath her hand, he smiled back through his tears that ran down his face. Finally, she wrapped her arms around him in a big hug, letting him cry on her shoulder.

He mumbled something along the lines of, "You give nice hugs".

Miranda smiled,_ As long as I can be his friend…_

* * *

SWD


	6. A Horror Story

Ok i fixed everything. please lemme know if you find anymore errors ^^; and be nice

* * *

"Hey everyone! I got em!" Lavi came into the office with a triumphant grin on his face, following him was Krory in his cotton two piece pajamas, ironically with cartoony bats on them, yawning and rubbing his eyes and a very pissed off Kanda, also in his Japanese style robe pjs.

Once the tall exorcist regained slight consciousness, he looked around and realized he was in the main office, although he couldn't tell at first, the papers that were scattered everywhere were replaced with blankets and pillows. Though most likely the missing and ancient papers were buried under the blankets.

"Oh good good! Hurry and sit down so we can begin!" Komui smiled big, practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.

Linalee and Allen, also in their own pajamas, turned and welcomed them.

"Oh….Lavi did you wake them up?"

"I Am Going To Kill You" Kanda growled ferociously before graciously sitting on a pillow, clearly away from everyone else.

"Komui told me too!" Lavi quickly hid behind Allen.

"Heey guyshs" Allen did his best to say hi with his mouth stuffed with candy and other snacks.

Krory blinked in confusion, what was everyone doing here in sleeping wear with snacks?

"What's going on?" he asked innocently.

"I'm really sorry, I totally forgot to warn you" she continued her apologies.

"Huh? About what?"

"The Black Order's Annual Horror movie night!" Komui stood up on his desk with his evil grin and coat waving behind him, his paperwork scattering everywhere for a better dramatic effect.

"Because I am oh so generous, I will let you all experience where I get all of my inspiration from!" his glasses shined.

"That explains a lot…" Lavi coughed.

"I hope he doesn't get any new ideas after tonight…" the shorter exorcist gulped.

Still confused, Krory began to walk over to join in the others, but a small voice in the corner of the room caught him before he sat down.

"Huh?" he turned to find a semi large lump of blankets shivering in the back of the room.

"K-krory…?" the blanket called out a little louder this time.

"Miranda?" he quickly changed directions and went to her instead," Hey what's going on?"

"Ooh...I hate scary zings...und I didn't know ve vere having a slumber party...." she whimpered as Krory sat down next to her, she unconsciously scooted away from him, like Krory and Kanda, she was pulled out of bed and thrown into the office, thus giving her no time to change out of the small nightgown she wore to bed. She held onto her blanket tight, she wasn't exactly sure about showing anyone more skin than she was used to, let alone Krory.

"Huh?" he asked, still confused.

"Now then!" Komui clapped his hands together, calling for attention," Since we have a lot of new people to our annual event…" This would be Allen, Krory and Miranda;" I have selected a very special piece of entertainment to use my all-new Ko-movie projector!" he reached into his coat and whipped out a small rectangular box we now know as a movie cassette.

"I bring you…Attack of the Giant Leeches! Over 100 years young!" he waited for the excited cheers of his audience but instead received confused glances.

"...Young?" Miranda peaked out of the blanket a bit, looking over at Krory. He was just as confused as she was.

"...Brother...please don't tell me..." Linalee slowly placed his hand over her face in disbelief.

"Isn't time travel great?" Komui giggled as he welcomed the gasps and shocked faces of his audience.

"You got a movie from the future!?" Lavi smiled big.

"But…how?" Allen suddenly felt a little nervous.

"That's confidential, now lets move along shall we?"

Without further ado, Komui popped the cassette into the projector, doing his magic to bring his evil creature to life. He even added his own maniacal giggle while pressing play.

"Oh... zis can't be good" Miranda whimpered, and hid back in her blanket, wishing she could just disappear.

"I...have a bad feeling about this..." Krory mumbled under his breath while slowly scooting to sit closer to her," I don't like leeches...and big ones don't sound...good...."

Soon the lights suddenly dimmed down until it was pitch black, everyone held their breath. The projector growled as it turned on, a square beam of light shot out of its mouth and stuck to the wall of the office with the triumphant and eerie introduction of a symphony from the projector as the words on the wall read "ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES"

Komui turned to face his already frightened audience, the light of the projector shined on his glasses and the evil grin on his face made his poor exorcists wish they hadn't agreed to this.

"Let us begin! "

"…Miranda…"

"J-j-j-ja?" she squeaked

"How big is that blanket?"

* * *

"DAH!"

"GAH!"

Krory and Miranda yelped in unison, both hiding in the blanket and clinging to each other for dear life. Although they both had their eyes shut tight and the blanket over their heads, the gurgling sounds of the over sized leeches and the screams of the people being eaten alive were more than enough to frighten the two exorcists.

Meanwhile, Linalee, Allen, Kanda and Lavi were not fortunate to have any kind of protection.

"Oh...my…God..." she held her hand over her mouth, while she hand her arm linked with Allen's holding onto him tight.

"...I think I'm going to be sick..." he mumbled, holding his stomach and instantly regretting he ate all of those snacks. His other arm was linked with Lavi's, who had both of his arms clinging to Allen, nearly cutting off circulation.

But poor Kanda, who chose to be alone during the movie, remained in his normal upright and sitting position…but just looking paler than usual, and trying very hard not to look terrified.

"Buhahahahaa!" Komui was sitting in front of the desk, laughing hysterically," Oh wow this is great! Ahhahahaa!"

"Komui you evil bastard!" Lavi screamed, tightening his grip on Allen's arm.

An hour later and the movie ended, Komui stood up as the words "THE END" lit the room before it faded away, leaving the room dark again, he let out a satisfied sigh, turning on the lights and turning down the projector.

"Now wasn't that fun?"

Lavi wiped his brow; Allen froze in place and stayed that way. Linalee was breathing hard like she was running for miles. Kanda stayed the same as before but held his Mugen closer that usual. Meanwhile, Krory and Miranda were still in the blanket, shivering and clinging to each other.

"Ok! thank you everyone! sleep well!" he clapped.

"I hate you so much…" Lavi grumbled, it took a few moments, but the three chained together finally let go, Allen knew he would be bruised for at least a week.

The two in the back finally stopped shivering but were still connected at the hip, Krory gently brought a finger out to part the blanket for them to peak out.

"I think it's over…" he stated, though with some doubt in his voice. Miranda peaked from under his chin and checked herself.

"I zink so…"

"**OR IS IT?!"** Lavi suddenly growled in a deep and creepy voice behind the two. Krory yelped and jumped up and out of the blanket in fear.

Lavi held his stomach in pain as he laughed at them, they were both just too easy targets.

"LAVI! That was cruel!!" Krory blushed in embarrassment.

"It was too good to pass up!" he wiped a single tear from his eye.

Krory growled at his young comrade, he could be an evil child sometimes. It was quiet, Lavi and Krory slowly unison looked down to see Miranda, still with the blanket over her head and completely frozen stiff.

"...Miranda?" Krory knelt down and poked her gently, for a moment there was nothing but then suddenly she fell over to the side, like her soul flew away from being frightened out of her mind. This, of course, caused poor Krory to panic.

" DAH! Miranda!?"

"Um…oops?" Lavi rubbed the back of his head nervously," Didn't mean to make her pass out"

Upon hearing all of the commotion, Komui appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and joined in, kneeling beside the unconscious Miranda and poking at her.

"Oh my, she seems to be in a state of shock," he pointed scientifically, adjusting his glasses he stood up "Please take Miss Lotto to her room Lavi"

Krory stood up with Miranda in his arms before Lavi could even take a step," No way! I'm taking her!"

It was quiet for a moment.

"Sheeesh Kroykins what gives?"

"I know you Lavi, I'm not going to let you scare her again, or me for that matter!" he glared at him suspiciously.

"Krory…"Linalee held in her giggle, he had no idea what kind of thoughts he was giving everyone right," I really don't think…"

"So you think I'm plotting something eh….?" Lavi had his mischievous grin on, making Krory very nervous enough to take a few steps back.

"That's enough, take Miss Lotto out of here and away from Lavi before he scares her to death" Komui mumbled, putting his projector away under his desk, as if it wasn't hiding enough random items.

Krory obeyed and quickly, but carefully, made his way out of the office. Not noticing Lavi pulling Allen to the side, to plot.

It was some ungodly hour in the morning, it was expected to be quiet. Most residents of the Order were asleep. Just the soft patter oh his slippers on the stone floor as he carried her to her room.

He yawned lightly and looked down at her in his arms, her color was finally returning to her face after that surprise scare nearly made her jump out of her skin, but appeared to be asleep, or still unconscious he couldn't really tell.

But one thing he did noticed was just how small she was in his arms, he knew he was big, being the tallest member in the Order practically but she felt small, petite, fragile even, like if he held on to tightly she would shatter.

Finally, he reached her room and carefully opening it with his hip, learning from past experience to not use his foot this time around thankfully. He slowly maneuvered his way into her dark room until his knees gently touched the side of her bed, he sighed in relief as he placed her on the bed.

"Miranda?" he decided to try one last time before leaving. Sure enough, she mumbled and rubbed her head.

"huh? Vh-vhat happened?" she sat up, her blanket she clung onto the whole night fell around her waist, unfortunately she forgot she was wearing a small nightgown and that Krory was there.

He blushed deeply," Erm…you…um…passed out…Lavi…scared…er…yea" he silently thanked God it was dark and she couldn't see his bright red face, though he did his best to keep his eyes on her face as she spoke.

Life alone in a castle or not, he was still a male.

"Oh! Zat's right…Lavi can be mean sometimes" she pouted a little.

"Y-yea…um…s-so are you ok?"

"Ja…but he gave me such a fright…und zat movie…I don't zink I vill be able to sleep tonight…" she shivered a little bit just thinking about the small parts of the horror picture that she did see.

Krory bit his lip, careful not to rip into his skin with his shark like fangs despite how difficult that was right now.

Finally she turned to him," Vhat about you? Are you ok?"

"Y-yea! I'mfine!wellIbettergoI'llseeyoutomorrow!" he managed to squeak out before quickly heading out the door. Miranda just blinked in confusion, watching him go.

He closed the door behind him and let out a sigh, she was... more...shapely than he thought that's for sure.

"Bad thoughts, no Krory bad!" he poked himself in the forehead.

He suddenly stopped in mid poke when he heard a strange sound coming from down the hall, he froze and slowly turned in the direction of what he was sure to be something moving. His imagination was running wild, scenes of the movie replayed in his mind to the poor victims of the flesh eating leeches.

"..."

He didn't even think about his options, he just turned on his heel and went back to open her door.

"Um Miranda?" he peaked his head in, she was in her blankets, bundled up like before.

"Oh…Krory vhats vrong?"

"Erm…well you see…" the sound appeared again, this time closer, he was able to recognize it as some kind of hissing. He yelped a bit and ran inside, closing the door and locking it tight.

Miranda squeaked and pulled the covers over her head.

A moment of silence passed before she peaked out and suddenly found him sitting on the floor next to her bed, hugging his knees tight. He looked up at her pathetically and terrified, but she had the same exact expression as he did.

"Would it be alright if I could…perhaps…stay in here for the night?" he asked meakly.

"I vas…actually....about to ask you"

The two laughed at each other for a moment. Miranda hopped off her bed, still holding onto her blanket thankfully and knelt by the bed.

"You can use this spare if you vant" she reached under her bed and pulled out a spare mattress, he helped her pull it out next to the bed but stared at it with confusion.

"Do…we all have these?"

"O-oh nein…" she blushed in embarrassment," I…um…fall off the bed sometimes"

He blinked, though that didn't surprise him one bit. Clumsy by nature of course she would in her sleep.

Miranda then hopped back onto her bed, tossing him a spare pillow and small blanket before lying back down, watching him get situated.

"Hm"

"Yes?" he looked up at her, his arms behind his head.

" I…zink ve vould call this a slumber party…vell…more so zan ze other one…" she thought aloud.

"Oh yes that's right" he sat up a bit," What is a slumber party?"

She paused and thought for a moment," Vell…ist ven friends go to anozer friends house und spend the night, und zere is games und fun things like zat"

Though she had never been to one herself as a child, she knew what it was from overhearing her classmates. Despite this not exactly what she had in mind of a real slumber party, beggars can't be choosers.

"Oh! I've never heard of that before, that seems like fun" he paused and bit his lip," But at this point, anything is better than what that was...remember that one part in the lake-"

"Und the diver-"

"and he didn't see it until suddenly-"

"It vas too late?"

Both shuddered and held onto their protective blankets tighter to themselves. After a moment of remembering the horrible scene, the two looked at each other and laughed.

Two friends in a room just talking, this was a real enough slumber party for her.

Nearly an hour later Miranda suddenly began to yawn.

"What's this? Is Miss Lotto getting tired for once?" now feeling more comfortable he lightly teased her.

"Zat's not true" she replied, though rubbing her tired eyes.

"Oh?"

"I slept twice zis veek" she fell onto her side on the bed in a tired heap.

He smiled," Then you should make it three" he leaned back and lied on his mattress for the night.

"Oh fine…" she mumbled.

He yawned a bit as well but stopped in the middle of closing his mouth when he found Miranda looked down at him.

"Zank you for staying, I don't zink I vould haf never been able to sleep tonight" she smiled meekly.

He put on his big goofy smile," I should be thanking you, I had a lot of fun at this 'slumber party' we should do it again sometime"

She smiled," Ja! Ve should" she snuggled into her pillow," Gute Nacht Krory"

* * *

The rate of Miranda falling off her bed has recently dropped, after so many falls she then realized that if she put up some kind of blockade to the side of the bed that was exposed to the floor she would be safe.

That blockade of choice?

An extra pillow.

And if that extra pillow were to fail?

An extra mattress to catch her instead of falling on hard stone floor, causing bruising in the morning.

Unfortunately, that said pillow and mattress was currently being used by Krory, who was sleeping soundly on his back. It also didn't help that Miranda stayed up a few moments after Krory had fallen asleep to watch him with her head close to the edge for a better view.

Therefore, as Miranda mumbled and began to toss and turn in her sleep, gravity got a hold of her and the poor girl rolled right off the bed and on top of Krory face first.

"Eek!"

THUD

"Dah!"

"Ow…"

Being suddenly bought out of his unconscious state, he wasn't fully awake, let alone know his surroundings just yet. Rubbing his eyes for a moment, he blindly brought up his free hand to find whatever fell on him, but froze in place when he felt silky satin under his fingers. His eyes snapped open, her face was still in his chest, rubbing her head and his hand was on her waist, thought she didn't notice…yet.

Her blanket lay hanging on her bed, leaving her exposed in her night gown yet again, making him bright red

"U-um…M-M-Miranda?" he stammered nervously, while trying to sit up as much as he could with her on top of him.

Also barely realizing where she was, her eyes grew wide and her head snapped up to face him. But found Krory's face closer than she thought.

The two, now with burning red cheeks, were in a dead eye lock with each other and close enough that their foreheads were touching lightly.

"O-oh…I…I…um…f-fell…und…erm…s-sorry…a-and um….eh…" her words failed, nothing could come out in full sentences, like her mind just completely turned off .

Something happened. Neither of them were quite sure what it was, some kind of force by nature or something unconscious. Before the two could fully understand exactly what was going on, their eyes closed and lips met softly.

She felt like her body went numb yet still feel hot, being her first kiss in all of her 25 years of life, the poor girl had no clue what on earth she was suppose to do yet the two were in complete sync with each other. He purred gently and sat up straight, holding her close by putting her arms around her, she really was tiny. Miranda quickly grabbed the collar of his cotton pajamas pulling him as close and she possibly could.

But something clicked, like an old light that finally came on out of nowhere. This was her first kiss, he knew that much. But it wasn't his.

Who was his first kiss again?

He immediately saw in an image of his old lover and broke off like he was burned.

Miranda blinked in confusion," Vhats vrong?" she panted slightly, still breathless.

"I'm…sorry…but I can't…" it was nearly a whisper.

Suddenly she realized what she had done and turned bright red and absolutely horrified.

"Oh…mein….oh Gott….K-Krory I…I didn't…" she let him go and moved off of his lap.

He didn't say anything else. His eyes looked sad and empty, he refused to look at her. He just stood up and walked out silently, Miranda watched him leave and close the door behind him. She brought up a hand to her lips and felt tears fall from her eyes. She knew why he left, and she knew he would if she did anything like this but she did it anyone and possibly jeopardize their friendship forever.

_What have I done_

Lavi and Allen stood outside of Miranda's room and watched Krory leave.

The original plan of the Leeches prank consisted of a bucket of wet noodles to be placed on top of the door so as one of them were to leave the room the bucket would fall on them, creating a mass of screams from either Krory or Miranda and laughter from them. But in the middle of setting up they saw their tall friend walk out quickly, looking very distraught, he didn't even notice the two on the other side of the door as he left.

To make things even more confusing, in the complete silence of the Order, the two could easily hear the small sobs of the time keeping exorcist inside.

* * *

Sorry I took so long. Hopefully this is long enough to hold you guys. I tried to take the advice from a reviewer, I hope this is better!

~SWD


	7. Holding on

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Sorry for the delay. But here it is! Don't forget that this is the German accent version. If you want the non german accent version go to my profile to view it on my deviantart account thank you!

* * *

"Miranda?"

No response.

Linalee slowly opened the door to Miranda's room and peaked inside. It was nearly the afternoon and no one had seen her all day, so concerned for her friend's well being, especially after the horror movie from the previous night, she came by and found her small form curled up in a ball under her covers like she was hiding.

"Miranda? It's late, are you alright?" Linalee asked while walking in and shutting the door gently behind her.

Finally after a long pause, the lump in the covers that is Miranda mumbled something that sounded something along the lines of "I'll be up soon".

Linalee blinked, slightly taken back by the sound of her weak voice.

"Are you sick? You sure don't sound so great"

"I'm….ok…" she replied softly, holding onto her blanket tighter.

The young exorcist huffed and crossed her arms," I don't believe you"

Another moment of silence passed before the blob of blankets shifted. Miranda finally sat up, letting her shield fall into her lap, revealing her red cheeks that were streaked with ears and watery eyes threatening to spill over at any moment.

"M-Miranda…what happened?"

"…I…I…uh…" Miranda sniffed slightly, hugging her knees with one arm while her other hand buried itself in her hair, grasping it tightly as a way to fight back tears.

"I…messed…up…" she whimpered," I messed up really bad…"

* * *

Krory sat on his bed with his back against the wall with his small rose in his gentle grasp.

He woke up early this morning, finding no sleep the night before, and wandered around the Order aimlessly. After the small incident with Miranda, he was officially confused out of his mind.

Sighing, he stroked the petals lightly with his thumb, like he was gently waking it up to give him some kind of answer.

'_You don't have very much luck with women do you Arystar?' _

He could hear her say, though he knew very well it was just an illusion of comfort.

"Eliade…" he mumbled.

Suddenly, he yelped and loosened his grip on the rose. So deep in his thought, he accidently held onto his precious rose too tightly and the sharp thorns around its stem pricked his hand. Yet he didn't let go of the rose.

Krory sat there for a long moment, dumbfounded and staring at his hand, making no movement to wipe the bead of crimson from his hand.

Did his deadly but beautiful rose just answer his question?

As he stared at his hand, trying to figure out what the metaphor and symbolism was to all this, his door was suddenly kicked open.

Krory jumped in surprise as Lavi and soon Allen stomped into his room, looking very upset.

"Get up!" Lavi shouted.

"I can't believe you Krory we thought you were better than that!" Allen crossed his arms over his chest.

He just sat there and blinked, once again confused.

"Um…did I…miss something?" he asked innocently.

Allen growled a bit," We should be asking you!"

"…..huh?"

"Don't play dumb! What did you do to Miranda?" Lavi pointed outside, in the general direction of Miranda's room.

Krory went paler than usual,"…Wha….what…"

"We saw you leaving her room, and she was crying"

His heart sank," She…she was…?"

"Yea! But you left so fast you couldn't hear her right?"

Krory buried his hand in his hair, he was so caught up in his own worries that he didn't even think about her or her feelings.

"Oh no…" he whimpered, this just became more complicated.

Allen took a step forward," What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything to her!" Krory had his hand up in his defense, the two boys in front of him resembled two younger brothers defending their big sister.

"The what the heck is going on?!" Lavi also took a threatening step forward.

"She kissed me!" Krory blurted out before the two beat him to a pulp.

Both Lavi and Allen's jaw dropped in pure shock, who would've seen that one coming?

"W-wait…she…what now?" Allen blinked.

"S-seriously?"

Krory nodded weakly, looking away.

"Wow!" Lavi grinned," I didn't know she had it in her! How was it? Did you kiss her back?" he asked excitedly.

"I…I um…" Krory stammered, his face burned in embarrassment.

"But wait a second…" Allen scratched his head," Then why was she crying?"

"Oh yea! Don't change the subject!" Lavi, now back to anger.

He sighed," You both know I wouldn't do anything to any of you…especially Miranda" he took a deep breath, still refusing to look up at his comrades.

"I left"

It was quiet, though Allen still scratched his head in confusion.

"Left? Left what?"

Lavi eyed him carefully," Wait…like left...in the middle of it?"

He nodded.

"But…why?"

Krory sat silent, finding no words to explain himself. But…he knew why he did.

"It's…complicate-"

"H-hey! Kro your hand!" Allen interrupted suddenly and pointed, both Lavi and Allen followed the finger.

Being verbally jumped by the two boys so suddenly, Krory was distracted and didn't realize that the rose was still in his grasp. His palm was almost covered in his own blood as the thorns embedded themselves into his skin.

"Oh! Oops…"

Krory mumbled small protests as he plucked the rose that clung to his hand.

"A rose?"

Allen and Lavi turned to eachother.

Rose to Krory leads to man eating flowers which then follows Romania where he lived with said man eating flowers thus equaling to Eliade, who he also lived with.

It then clicked.

"Whoa! Hold on! You're still hung over your dead girlfriend!" Lavi exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Krory.

Suddenly his face curled slightly in a snarl," Her name is Eliade" he growled in her defense.

Allen slapped his forehead," Krory you can't be serious…she's dead"

"Neither of you would ever understand!" he snapped back.

"No, we don't. But what I do know is that there is a girl upstairs crying over you, and a good live girl too!" Allen had to place his hand on Lavi's shoulder in case he did some irrational as he spoke.

Krory sat there, refusing to look at them. After some coaxing, Allen was able to get the fuming Lavi out of the room to let Krory think some more. He waited until the door clicked shut before falling to the side in an emotional heap on his bed. His wounded hand clutched at his blankets to stop the bleeding, it hurt only slightly thankfully, though apart of him wished there was more pain, then at least he wouldn't have to think about the mess he put himself and Miranda in.

He let out a long sigh, he didn't mean to hurt her, but then again he didn't even think about that. He was too confused.

Of course he loved Eliade, he always did…

But now…

"But she's my best friend" he mumbled to no one but himself," am I suppose to feel this way about a friend?"

He waited for a response but received none, not even his not so innocent rose that lied beside him answered this time.

* * *

"Linalee! Don't!" Miranda whined.

"No way! We've given him enough pity and if someone is going to kick some sense into him then I will!"

Perhaps telling Linalee the whole story wasn't the best idea.

Miranda, still sitting on the bed, had her arms around Linalee's waist, holding her back from killing Krory.

"Don't hurt him please!" she begged.

"Why are you defending him? You love him and I know he probably does too but he's so hung over his dead girlfriend that he can't see it!" she continued to try and stomp off but Miranda held on for life and to the bed for support as well.

"Nien! Linalee it's ok!" she tried.

The young girl's stopped and whipped her head around to find Miranda's face buried against her back.

"It's…ok…how can you-"

"Because I understand. Because if I vere him I vould've done the same" she mumbled, glancing slightly at her grandfather clock that sat beside her bed.

Linalee stopped at her comment, Miranda finally let her go and sat back down, keeping her eyes on her clock.

" As…silly as it sounds…if my clock vas human and someone else kissed me…I vouldn't be so happy about it" she scratched her head and laughed sadly," Eliade vas his first love…I don't expect him to just let me replace her that quickly…or…at all for that matter"

"Miranda…" she started but found no argument to protest, Linalee sighed," So what are you going to do now?"

She finally looked up at her with a fake smile," I von't ruin our friendship, he's a vonderful friend. I guess…ve'll pretend it never happened"

* * *

For the sake of my own sanity, and maybe a few of you, I'm splitting this chapter up into two.

Sorry if its too short. I'll try and get this next one up soon.

thank you for your patience

Review plz

~Swd


	8. Mistake

One chapter to go!

' ' thinking.

enjoy

* * *

Miranda never slept, even as an exorcist in this great home, she still couldn't shake her insomnia. Especially now where her minds was running a million miles a minute about Krory and how she was planning to speak with him today after yesterday's long silence, so in other words, very stressed out. Yet there were those few, rare and glorious nights where she did get sleep, and she was in heaven.  
She was in her cocoon of blankets and hugging her pillow, sleeping beautifully.

When suddenly her door was kicked in.

"MMMIIIIRRRAAANNNDAAAA!!!!!!"

Komui screamed at the top of his lungs with tears in his eyes.

Miranda's entire body jumped up in a fright," DAH!!!"

"THANK GOD YOU'RE AWAKE!!!" he ran over to her bed," WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY!!!"

She froze in place, her eyes wide in fear and confused.

"K-komui?" she asked, making sure she wasn't dreaming.

In his hands was a giant stuffed toy dog about half the size of the tall supervisor.....and it was missing an arm, white fluff hanging from its torn area.

"PLEASE!!! LINALEE TOLD ME YOU COULD SEW!!! PLEASE SAVE MR. SHNOOKEMS!!!!!"

Miranda sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself and stared at the doll then at Komui, who was seriously crying like someone had died.

"Supervisor Komui..." she yawned; now calming down," Vhat time is it?"

"It's 5 am. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!"

"Of course it's not…" she mumbled to herself," Alright lets see" she took the large stuffed toy and examined the ripped seams.

"Vhat on earth happened here?" she asked while switching to look out the arm.

Komui sniffled and rubbed his tear filled eyes," W-we were playing with Kimorin 27 and…and…"

She didn't care how old he was, as of right now he was 5 years old.

"It's alright, I can fix him easy" she managed to say in between a yawn.

Komui eyes lit up," R-really?! You can?!"

"Ja ja, just give me an hour or so und-", she didn't get a chance to finish, he suddenly jumped forward and gave her the biggest hug he possibly could.

"ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!" before she could move or respond to his surprise hug attack, he jumped up and away and was already by the door.

"I'll be back in a few!" he called out before closing the door behind him, leaving a dazed and confused Miranda sitting there with a dismantled stuffed animal.

She sighed, no point in going back to sleep, after much grumbling, she got up and went on a search for her sewing kit.

* * *

Meanwhile, Krory was suddenly kicked out of his lovely dream by Lavi's boot to his mattress.

"Gah!"

"Get up Kro, Komui has an assignment for us" Lavi growled. Krory sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Lavi…I know you're still upset but it's not your business, let it go" he grumbled as he sat up, not too happy about being woken up in such a way.

"I'll let it go when you do" Lavi glared at him, but the tall exorcist just brushed past him to get dressed.

The red head watched as Krory ignored him while picking out clothes for today's mission.

"Kro" Lavi started. No response. He went on, picking out his cloak.

"Seriously, Kro" Lavi tried again. Krory put his cloak on, turned on his heel and left.

"Hey! We are so not done here!" Lavi called out, marching behind Krory. Who continued to ignore him.

The entire way to Komui's office, Lavi ranted on and on about how wonderful Miranda was and how stupid he was being for picking his dead girlfriend over her. But he just continued to block him out and walked a little faster.

"I mean really if I were you I'd marry the girl right this second!"

"Lavi…shut up" he growled, pushing the office doors out of his way in slight anger and annoyance," Komui, we're here"

"O-oh! That was quick, in a hurry or something?" he asked while grabbing a file and trying to make it look presentable.

"Something like that, yes" Lavi plopped on the couch, Krory soon followed suit.

"Well alright, we have a disturbance in this area here in Italy and-"

As Komui spoke about the latest akuma attack, Krory could hear him speak but he wasn't listening. He was too distracted, thinking about what Lavi had been saying. He had already decided to remain friends with her, now the trick was to getting around to telling her.

"-and then hopefully we'll see you two in a few days yes?" Komui had ended, bringing Krory back to his senses; hopefully Lavi was paying attention since he sure wasn't.

"You alright Komui? You seem jumpy today" Lavi asked, standing up and looking over the file.

"Well…no, one of my toys was involved in a Kimorin accident" Komui poked his fingers together, slightly ashamed.

Krory and Lavi exchanged glances.

"Um…I'm sorry to hear that…is your toy in emergency care?" Lavi smiled a bit at his own joke.

"Even better! Mr. Shnookems is with Miranda, she's fixing him for me!" he exclaimed with a big smile.

"Oh, so it was a stuffed toy?" Krory suddenly blurted out, Lavi whipped around and gave him a small grin. Krory blushed," Wh-what? Don't look at me like that! She's my friend and I just know that she sews well ok?!"

"Alright alright don't get so defensive Kro-chan" Lavi snickered.

"I really dislike you right now Lavi…" Krory grumbled," Don't be getting any ideas…"

Komui blinked, he was really out of the loop. Maybe he should get out more?

"In any case, Krory could you do me a big favor and ask Miranda if she's done with him yet before you go? She's on the way and I'm sure you were going to head that way anyway"

It was quiet for a moment.

'Not now! I haven't figured out what I wanted to say yet!' Krory panicked in his mind. Lavi saw this and quickly went behind him and pushed him forward.

"That's right! We would love to visit your best friend before we go!"

"D-dah! Lavi!" despite not wanting to go, Krory didn't put much of a fight as they headed out the door, if he did in front of Komui then he would know something was up. Lavi maybe annoying now, but if Komui finds out he will never hear the end of it.

"Oh good, see you two soon!" Komui waved them off.

The moment the door closed, Lavi grabbed him by the end of his cloak and dragged poor Krory to Miranda's room.

"Let's go!"

"L-lavi! I'll talk to her later!" he whined.

"No way, you have to now that he asked you too"

"Then I'll do it myself I don't need you to babysit me" he growled, snatching his coat away from his grasp.

"Pfft. Yes I do" he grabbed his coat again," You're going to chicken out and not do it" with that said, he walked on.

This time it was Lavi who was ignoring Krory's small whines and pleads. A couple of floors down later and they had arrived.

"No no no no no" Krory whimpered, his cloak being stretched as he tried to run away but Lavi held onto him tight.

"Miranda!" Lavi called out, struggling for power over the cloak and the fleeing exorcist attached to it.

Just as the time exorcist was finishing up her work on the wounded stuffed animal named Mr. Shnookems, she could hear a small scuffle outside her door; soon her name was being called out by what she guessed to be Lavi's.

" Miranda! You in there!?" that was Lavi alright.

"L-lavi please don't!"

Her heart suddenly stopped for a moment, Krory was with him.

"Miranda talk to the idiot please!"

She was up in seconds, completely forgetting about the stuffed toy she was working on. Miranda wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting when she opened the door; she was of course surprised to find Lavi holding onto Krory's cloak as he tried to run away.

"U-um…hello?"

The two immediately froze, like being caught in the act. Krory and Lavi snapped up right, making themselves presentable to the confused Miranda.

"Hey Miranda! We're going on a mission soon but Komui wanted to know the condition of his stuffed animal?" Lavi started.

"Oh Ja I'm just about done I'll go take it to him soon"

"Good…well…" he looked over at Krory who had his head down," I'll be off then…Kro meet me later"

He didn't answer; Lavi sighed and left them alone, at least from a distance, he hid in the corner watching instead.

It was quiet for a long moment between the two.

"Hey…" he started quietly.

"Hey" she responded quickly.

Why weren't things in life easy? Krory ran a hand through his hair as he started," Look about the other night…"

"It vas stupid" she cut him off," I'm…I'm so sorry I never…I just…I'm sorry" she wasn't looking at him; she kept her eyes on her hands, which were still and pale.

"It's ok…I shouldn't have ran out on you like that…"he sighed," But…we're still friends…right?"

It was quiet again; he bit his lip and waited for some kind of answer. Finally she looked up at him the biggest fake smile he had ever seen.

"Ja, still friends" she answered with as much enthusiasm as she could muster to continue her charade, slowly she brought her hand up, waiting for a hand shake. Like friends do. Like when they first met.

Her outward appearance showed acceptance, but he could see right through her, and he could see her breaking on the inside.

But this is what he wanted right?

He gave a small smile and slowly reached up to meet her hand with his in a weak handshake, if it could even be called one, she didn't grasp his hand back, it was just there. Lifeless.

"Yea…just friends" he mumbled, more so to himself then aloud. At this point it took everything Lavi had to not jump out and strangle Krory.

Her hand slipped out of his grasp as she took a step back into her room," Good luck on your mission"

He didn't answer; words just weren't enough to express what he wanted to say or what he even wanted to do. All he knew right now was that he needed answers and she was closing the door on him.

"Miranda wait" his hand acted on its own, holding the door before she closed it. She made no movement to try and close it or open it again; she just looked up at him from behind the crack in the door.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked suddenly.

She didn't answer for a long moment, fearing if she told him how she felt, she would break right in front of him. Instead she continued with her fake smile, trying to tell him and even herself that everything was alright.

"You love her; I have no right to intrude on that"

He suddenly felt weak, his hand dropped from the door.

"….Miranda…"

"I'll get over it" with that she gently closed the door.

Krory stood there, dumbfounded. It went just as he wanted to, now they're friends and he can forever hold onto his dead love for the rest of his life.

He stared at the door for a moment, not knowing she was on the other side of the door doing the same, waiting for him to leave so she could finally shatter into a million pieces.

Lavi blinked, speechless and watched Krory walked right past him without a word.

Meanwhile, Miranda waited for his footsteps to fade down the hallway. She turned, leaned back against the door and slowly slid to the floor. She held herself together as she reached for her time record on the table beside her. Komui would be expecting his toy soon; she couldn't let him see her, or anyone for that matter. Best thing to do for everyone is to bubble herself up, that way, when she collapses into tears she can go on for hours and no one would know.

"Innocence, activate"

Not knowing that Krory was looking at her door as the golden rings surrounded it.

* * *

"YO! KRORYKINS!! GET IT TOGETHER ALREADY!!" Lavi screamed while running for his life down an abandoned street with a small army of akuma trailing behind him.

Krory just sat on the roof watching Lavi being chased, feeling no motivation to move let alone fight.

He sighed," I'll be there in a moment Lavi…"

So far the akuma have only really noticed Lavi and left Krory alone, he took this to his advantage and began to rethink. Since he left the Order he's just been depressed, Lavi's silent treatment the entire trip to their destination didn't help either.

Krory ran a hand through his hair in frustration, staying friends with her was what he wanted but why was he so depressed? Like there was something missing that was there before.

"KRO-CHAAAAAN!!!!" Lavi yelped again,"Ok I'm sorry about being mean to you this whole time now heeeeelp!!"

Finally, Krory stood up and stretched a bit. Maybe having a mid day snack would help take his mind off of things.

But the moment he completed pulling his relaxed muscles into action, a large clawed hand that reminded him of Allen's, suddenly grabbed him from behind and held him tight from moving.

"HEY! I got one!" the akuma growled with excitement, Krory on the other hand was not so excited. He didn't move or make any signs of struggling; he just turned a bit to look at the akuma with a bored expression, or pity for what's coming to him.

"Good thing too, I was starving!" it growled again with a big grin.

"Is that right?" Krory finally asked, he took a small breathe of air before his bangs shot up right and his eyes dilated," So am I"

With that said he dug his huge fangs into the akuma's hand and began to feed. Within moments the akuma burst into ash.

"Huh, what do you know…I'm feeling better already" he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and ran off to follow Lavi.

"KROOOOORRRYYYYY!!!!" now the poor red head was crying pathetically, while still running for his life.

"Shut up already I'm coming!"

This caught the attention of the group of demons chasing Lavi, who stopped and turned only to be eaten alive by a depressed psychotic vampire.

Finally catching his breath, Lavi plopped on the floor and watched Krory go. He almost felt bad for the akuma who were unlucky to pick this day to get into a fight with the vampire exorcist. He was showing no mercy and no signs of stopping until he was full.

"Er…Kro…? Are you o-"

"NO I AM NOT OK" Krory growled while ripping one akuma's arm off.

The red head gulped, and slowly crawled away, too tired to stand right now, and grabbed his fallen hammer. It was difficult, without his equipment type innocence he was left powerless, unlike his comrade who just needed his fangs. He placed the now small hammer in its holster and waited from Krory to finish his meal.

It didn't take long, the last few were taken care of with a quick slice down the middle, and Lavi assumed he was full. Krory landed on solid ground and stomped off, though the battle was over, his anger and frustration replaced his depression and kept his innocence active.

"Are we done here?" he grumbled while passing Lavi, who jumped up and followed.

"Uh…yea…sure if that was the last one"

"AHEM"

Both Krory and Lavi froze in mid step. Before either they could turn around, the hidden akuma tail whipped Krory crashing into a nearby townhouse.

"Dah! Kro-chan!" Lavi panicked, where did this one come from?

The giant dragon looking akuma took a deep breath and expelled green flames from its mouth, burning the town house and trapping Krory inside.

"CRAP!"

"You're next exorcist!"

* * *

. . . . . .

'…huh? What's that…why am I wet…?'

Krory slowly opened his eyes, though his vision was faded, there wasn't much to see except split wood and chunks of stone surrounding him. He groaned, his body felt heavy and he couldn't move. It took him a few moments to remember what had happened and to realize that he was still in the building that he had crashed into.

He was knocked unconscious and miraculously survived as the burning building collapsed on top of him. Luckily after Lavi disposed of the akuma, some villagers came by to help put the fire out. Thus the small water drops on his face and on the burnt debris.

"Hang on Kro!" he could hear Lavi shouting. A small rock popped out of place and plopped on his forehead, Lavi must be digging him out.

"You better still be alive! I am not telling Miranda you're dead you hear me?!" Lavi shouted again.

Krory blinked,' Miranda? If I were dead…who knows what she would do if she found out I were dead…' he thought to himself, it would be awhile for Lavi to dig him out, might as well get some thinking done.

'When I told her I wanted to just be friends, I know she didn't want it but she said it was fine…but I know she didn't mean it…but its for the best because I love Eliade but then again…'

He whimpered, maybe thinking wasn't the best idea, but unfortunately that didn't make him stop.

'I love…or…loved Eliade…she was everything to me and Miranda understood that…we're the same. We had no one else. I'm lucky; at least my companion was alive. Besides, she was the one that even told me not forget her and…then…' he stopped for a moment, recalling back to when they first talked about it.

She cried for him, knowing how awful it felt to have that one companion lost, though she just had her grandfather clock she still understood. Even as he said that he had forgotten about Eliade while he was with her, Miranda still said that his first love will never be forgotten.

A small light bulb went off in his mind.

'If that's true then even if we do on as friends…well…assuming she…well…loves me then…'

"ARGH!!!" Krory growled in frustration, too much thinking!

"Kro! You're alive!"

"GET ME OUT OF HERE BEFORE MY HEAD EXPLODES" Krory screamed back.

"R-right! Hang on!"

Krory growled a bit in his throat, he moved his head up just a bit to bring it back down in a weak attempt to get these thoughts out of his head

'Why can't it be simple…why can't I figure out why I've been so upset when I wanted to be friends instead of…of…'

He blinked," Wait a second…I…think…I think…I"

Meanwhile, Lavi and the villagers continued to desperately dig Krory out of the building.

"K-krory! Hey! Stay with me!" he called out, the last thing he wanted was to find Krory dead and have to report home without him. He didn't even want to imagine what Miranda would do if she found out.

It had been a few moments since Krory's sudden outburst and Lavi's over reactive imagination feared the worst.

"Krory! Krory c'mon talk to me!"

Suddenly, the rubble began to shake slightly, Lavi and the others backed away. As if the tons of rock and burnt wood were just mere paper, Krory stood up straight and out of the rubble with a triumphant look on his face and pieces of debris flew from the sudden jolt of movement.

"I LOVE MIRANDA!"

Some villagers ran off like someone had risen from the dead, which seemed that way, and Lavi fell backwards right on his rump with Krory's sudden arrival.

"I FIGURED IT OUT!" he exclaimed, Lavi blinked. The tall exorcist just stood there, his cape covered in grey dust and small rocks but his fists were clenched in victory. Not at all was Lavi was expecting.

"…wh-wh-what…the…hell…"

"DON'T YOU SEE!?" Krory reached forward, grabbed Lavi by the collar and pulled him up and off the ground as he explained," It all makes sense! I'm so upset because I love her and I really didn't want to leave her!"

His face softened, but he began to shake Lavi out of anguish," I practically ripped her heart out and she took it with a smile…what kind of monster am I!?"

Lavi would've replied but he was too shocked and busy being shaken to respond.

"We have to go back to the Order now!" with that, Krory dropped Lavi and stepped out of the rubble, marching off into the distance.

Lavi just watched him go and promptly fall over on his face as his wounds made themselves known.

"Ow…"

"You are by far the weirdest…" Lavi slapped his forehead," Never mind…c'mon hot shot" he sighed, walking over to help Krory up.

"I suppose their right about what they say" Lavi smirked a bit while putting krory's arm over his shoulder.

"Ow…huh? What?"

"Love is blind; you know any of us could've told you that you were totally in love with her"

Krory looked up and gave him the dirtiest glare he could while trying to now pass out," Shut up Lavi, just shut up"

* * *

*falls over dead*

Review plz

~Mizu


	9. Can I call you something more?

Thank you everyone for your support for KroryxMiranda!

* * *

Strange weather hit the Order HQ with a sudden rain storm. It was no big deal for the huge fortress but unfortunate for Lavi and a wounded Krory who slowly made their way up to the front gate.

"Hang on buddy" Lavi called out over the rain while trying to help Krory walk," We're almost there"

The limping exorcist groaned a bit, grasping his sides that were poorly bandaged up in haste to get home. Both were completely soaked, not making his wounds feel any better, but regardless of the pain and exhaustion he was determined to plead for forgiveness.

"L-Lavi…can you report in for me?" he asked weakly, now waiting for the gate to open.

"Wait…What?"

"I have to talk to her"

"Are you nuts? You can barely stand!" the gate opened and Lavi quickly, while trying to drag the taller exorcist, made it inside. Both sat on the floor of the entrance to take a breather, Lavi took off his headband and wrung it free of rain water it had collected.

"Listen Kro-chan, you know I'm all for you saying sorry and all but...seriously, you need to take a break. A freaking building fell on your head"

Krory took a deep breath, enjoying his moment of rest before gathering enough strength to stand up.

"No, I have to do this now" he held his side in pain.

"Krory! Hey where do you think you're going!?"

The two looked up to see a very worried Linalee running up to them," Lavi told me what happened you need to-"

"Linalee, please, where is she?" he cut her off and begged. It took her a moment to recall her conversation with Miranda about what had happened and what Krory had said to her. Despite her urge to kick him over the edge of the Order for her broken hearted friend, the desperate look on his face told her that he was more than ready to say sorry.

"She's on the roof, something about fresh air awhile ago"

"What? But it's pouring out there!" Lavi scratched his head, though Krory didn't look surprised. The red head huffed and crossed his arms over his chest," Man you two are really depressing when you're sad…I mean…really, over excessive"

"Lavi, stop talking…seriously" she glared at him.

"Wh-what? I'm just saying….h-hey! Kro-chan where you goin'?"

As Linalee and Lavi were talking, Krory had taken off…though he didn't get far, just a few feet as he limped away.

"Krory! You're hurt!" she exclaimed.

"Don't bother, he's a man on a mission" Lavi looked a little proud. Linalee huffed and watched him go.

Very. Slowly.

"At this rate, she's going to jump off the roof" she muttered under her breath.

Both Krory and Lavi whipped around and stared at her with horror on their faces.

"H-h-hey don't joke about that!" Lavi was on his feet now.

Finally she let out a long sigh and stomped over to Krory," Ok. That's it. Let's go" she grabbed his hand, activated her Dark Boots and took off like a rocket to the roof with Krory helplessly being dragged along, leaving Lavi alone to watch his buddy fly off in the name of love.

A few moments after the launch, Komui and Allen appeared around the corner with towels meant for the two of them.

"Hey where's Krory?" Allen asked, giving Lavi a white towel.

"Oh, he ran off to beg for forgiveness" he stated very calmly while drying his hair.

Allen sighed in relief, "Good, so now we don't have to kill him"

"Yep"

It was quiet; Komui slowly peaked over Allen's shoulder and looked at Lavi then at Allen then at Lavi again with confusion and worst of all, curiosity.

"So…would you two like to fill me in?" he asked innocently.

"Oh that's right you don't know, so it went like this…" Lavi started.

* * *

Meanwhile, when it could've taken Krory maybe two days to climb all the way up the Order's tower, it took Linalee a grand total of two minutes to reach the highest level. She gracefully landed on solid ground and helped him stand up right.

"Here we are, just through that door and she's right there…" she paused and watched him," Um Krory?"

"We…have a ceiling?" he pointed to the ceiling that he was sure didn't exist, from where his room was, looking straight up was just like looking at space, just darkness. Meaning, they were very very high up, making him very very nervous.

"Focus Krory she's over there, and don't worry, we sealed it off with a big fence, she can't jump even if she wanted to"

"L-Linalee!" He panicked.

This time she didn't answer, instead she walked over and opened the door slightly, just enough for him to clearly see a lone figure standing out in the middle of the rain. He didn't say anything either, he just took a deep breath and stepped back into the rain and straight to her. Linalee watched him go and smiled a bit, closing the door and left. Though she wanted to give them privacy this time around, she would still stick around until they returned together.

The rain continued fall, causing the roof to collect large puddles everywhere, but he didn't seem to care as he stepped through them, neither did Miranda, she just stood there like a statue, facing the gate that prevented her or anyone else from jumping.

"Miranda?" he called out gently behind her, she didn't hear him coming and jumped slightly. She turned and gave him the same fake smile he last her with.

"Krory! You're home early"

He took a short moment to look over her, her dress was completely soaked, her hair clung to her face, and her cheeks and nose were lightly pink, no doubt catching a cold after this.

"Y-yeah well…I…um…" unfortunately in his over excitement to apologize, he didn't think about how to say it. He scratched the back of his head, looking around to think, but his movement caused his cloak to move slightly, but enough for her to see the bandaged poorly wrapped around his chest and stomach.

"Oh! Krory you're hurt!" she pointed to his chest.

He paused and followed her gaze, now that he noticed his wounds once again; he realized water was seeping through.

"You…vell…shouldn't you be in ze medical ving?"

"I know…but…" he blushed," I wanted to see you"

There was a small pause.

She blinked," Vhy?"

Now he stood silent, like she truly had not idea or had forgotten. This, of course, not making things better for him.

"Well…um…"

"Ja?"

He sighed," Look, I just…" he took a step forward to get closer but as he did so, the wounds began to sting as water continued to hit them, making his legs weak,"…oh…ow…" he leaned forward and groaned, she quickly caught him by the shoulders.

"Krory are you ok? You should go-"

"No, Miranda I need to talk to you" he whimpered, lowering himself to sit on his knees, she followed suit and sat in front of him.

She sighed, pushing him lightly to make him sit up straight," Krory…if zis is about ze ozer night, I already told you zat I'd get over it"

He looked straight at her and her false smile, it was killing him slowly." I'll…ve…can both forget about it, it never happened"

"But that's just it…that's the problem" he replied softly, for a moment she couldn't understand what he was saying until he leaned forward, placing a small kiss on her lips. She froze up; they parted before she could react. Krory remained close, his heart pounding in his chest and cheeks very red.

"I can't forget" he finished his point.

It was quiet for a moment; the two just stared at each other. Miranda blinked, still trying to register what was going on and what just happened, while Krory forgot to breathe, waiting for some kind of response.

"Krory" she came back to life, he held his breath tighter in his throat," I don't need any pity"

It was quiet again.

By now Krory didn't want to breath, his shoulder and face fell in shock," Y-you…you think I'm doing this…out of pity?" he managed to gasp out with the little air he had.

She sighed lightly and stood up to leave.

Normally he would've let her go in the state of shock he was in, but that was before, now he had to fight for her back.

"Miranda wait" he quickly took her hand before she was out of range.

"Krory…" she whimpered, refusing to look back at him, just keeping her eyes on the door that lead inside. Which lead to her room where she can cry her eyes out again in her own little bubble.

"I'm not letting you go" he stated with confidence in his voice, this caught her attention. He gently tugged on her hand, a small pleading gesture. She finally sat back down but kept her eyes on the floor, feeling all emotions she kept inside bubbling up; looking at him would only make her crack.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry I broke your heart"

She couldn't see the tears streaming down his face, hard to tell in the rain anyway. Chances are he couldn't see hers either.

"It was selfish of me, I didn't think about you or your feelings when I left. It wasn't fair, please forgive me for being so…"his words fell, what could he describe his actions? There were many to choose from," So…um…"

"Stupid?" she answered for him, rather quickly.

"Y-yeah…stupid…" he gulped, her sudden outburst was new. She was cracking.

"So…vhat happened to make you run back so quickly?" she asked, he could clearly hear the anger in her voice, but it was restrained.

"Being buried alive under a burning building"

Her head snapped up "Vhat?!"

"S-so you do still care?" his cute smile came back with hope.

Unfortunately, it didn't work this time. She glared at him and finally snapped," Vhy should I forgive you!?" she screamed, not holding anything back or her tears. Krory winced at her voice, all this madness made the small meek exorcist explode. Not Good.

"You picked her vith no hesitation or question und I supported you! I never…I didn't realize you vould be so…so…blind! Tell me vhy I should forgive you?!"

Krory felt two inches tall all of a sudden, this was the first he's ever heard her so upset before, most likely the first time she has been. It was perfectly understandable but it didn't stop from him feeling so horrible already. It was silent again, except the small patter of rain still hitting the floor around him and her light pants for air after her outburst.

His eyes slowly fell from her face to his hand which still held hers; Miranda's intense glare was making it difficult to think of anything to say at this point.

"I…um…just...erm…" he mumbled nonsense, not realizing that he was gently stroking her hand with his thumb. She watched him for a while; the poor guy was a complete mess now. She sighed deeply, calming down now.

"Do…you hate me?" he managed to say something after all.

She quickly shook her head," Nien…"

He smiled a bit, there was hope. He brought her hand up and placed a small kiss on the back of it before letting her go and began to undo the buttons on his cloak.

"Krory?" she asked curiously, he kept his small smile and put the cloak on her head, preventing any further rain water getting to her.

"I love you" he stated and kissed her quickly, she blinked in surprise," And I'm sorry", while she was still in shock, he stood up and scooped her up on his way bridal style. She yelped and clung to his shirt at the sudden movement.

With that, he walked off towards the door with her securely in his arms.

Miranda blushed and looked up at him, his face was difficult to read, that and his wet bangs stuck to his face, hiding his eyes. But it all seemed to make sense when she noticed through his weird low cut shirt that his poor bandages were falling apart and wound bleeding through them.

Yet he was somehow to calmly open the door, walk in, place her on her own two feet, and turn to close the door.

Miranda took the cloak from her head and moved it to hang on her shoulders," K-krory…are you…"

The moment the door was closed shut he promptly fell over at her feet.

"DAH! Krory!"

"Ow…that hurt…" he whined, followed by a small sniffle. Definitely getting a cold after this.

Miranda quickly knelt beside him and helped him up, despite his groans and whines to not be moved, she was able to get him to sit up and lean against the door.

"So you veren't kidding about ze building falling on you" she mumbled, while pressing his cloak against his chest to stop the reopened wound from bleeding.

"It…ow was burning…ow ow" he added in between small grunts of pain.

She removed the cloak for a moment to inspect his chest, for once thankful for that stupid shirt, but unfortunately it didn't seem to be doing any better. Like a reflex she reached for her right arm to grab his Time Record, in hopes of healing him temporarily until they got to the medical wing but it wasn't there.

"Ze one time I don't have it vith me…" she slapped her own forehead.

Miranda noticed it was quiet…and too quiet for the vampire exorcist in pain, she looked up and found him unconscious but still sitting up.

"Krory!" she stood on her knees and held his face in her hands," Hey! Krory vake up!"

He mumbled, too weak to move but awake enough to let her know she was alive somehow.

"Stay alive, ve are so not done here" her sudden angry confidence appeared again. At this he whimpered.

She paused for a moment before placing a small kiss on his lips," I'll be back"

Miranda stood up and turned only to be face with a giant robot to be none other than Komui's new toy, Kimorin 27. Similar to its 26 other predecessors, it shared the same white and purple color along with Komui's signature hat on top, but this one was a thinner model, most likely built for stealth, thus why she was not able to see or hear him coming as it climbed up the tower like the spider it looked like.

"ARYSTAR KRORY!" Komui screamed, he was perched on his control center on Kimorin 27's back.

Miranda blinked, this day couldn't get any more of an emotional rollercoaster than it already was.

"Oy! Komui! We didn't finish the story!" Lavi called out, using the extending hammer to meet up with them, Allen was also with him, hanging on under Lavi.

"Lavi! Allen! Vat did you two tell him?!" she growled, of course she wasn't happy about...well everything about the situation but having her personal life broadcasted was another thing.

"We just got to the part when Krory said he wanted to be friends, and then he freaked out and got a new giant robot!" Allen explained, trying to keep away from the giant mechanical spider, he's had enough experience with Komui's experiments for one lifetime.

"How dare he do such a thing! I'll take care of him myself don't you worry Miranda!" Komui's glasses shined evilly as his creation growled, a small door opened from its chest, revealing more arms, which held swords, guns, and other random objects that cause pain. Miranda yelped and stood in front of Krory.

"Komui! Zat ist not necessary!" she gulped, sharp objects getting awfully close.

"At least lemme finish!" Lavi shook his fist.

"Well alright, hurry it up though, I really want to try out this new ray gun here" Komui pouted and stopped the robots advances. Miranda sighed in relief.

"Long story short, a burning building collapsed on him, somehow making him realize he loves her and he's here begging for forgiveness and…well…here we are" he finished.

Komui nodded and turned back to Miranda," So are we good?"

"J-ja! I forgive him! Please put ze veapons avay!"

"Aw…" Komui whined, pressing a button that retracted his weapons of mass destruction and closed the door.

Miranda sighed again," Um…Supervisor, Krory is still hurt, could you take him to the medical ving please?" she moved to let him see the unconscious vampire in the corner.

"Okie dokie!" Komui's grin came back," But I can take care of him myself!"

A few buttons later, Kimorin 27 reached out with one of its arms from the door in its chest and wrapped itself around his waist.

Krory's eyes snapped open at that moment, he blinked, trying to register what was going on and why he had suddenly woke up but when he noticed the giant robot and Komui's evil grin, he yelped and grabbed the doorknob behind him in a futile attempt to get away.

"I was hoping for an easy catch but…oh well!" Komui reached under his seat, pulling out a fisherman's cap out of nowhere and put it on. He then grabbed on the red lever in front of him and pulled on it, though it seemed to be difficult, Krory wasn't letting go.

Miranda wisely stepped away as far as she could, as did Lavi and Allen.

"You're only making it harder for yourself!" Komui called out, still having trouble pulling the lever all the way.

"No! Not again!" Krory whimpered.

The door couldn't take it much longer and was ripped open, now hanging onto it's hinges. Krory wouldn't give up; he dug his nails into the wood and clung to it with his legs as best he could. As a last and final attempt, he bit into the side of the door with his huge fangs.

"A true fisher of exorcist will never give up!" Komui declared, still pulling.

A few moments later and the door couldn't take it anymore, finally the door and Krory with it were ripped from it's hinges. In shock, he let go of the door but still clawed at the floor as he was being dragged away.

"Miranda!" he called out, now clinging onto the railing," Help!"

She stood in front of him with a small glare and her arms crossed. At this, Krory suddenly wished for death.

"H-hey…please…don't you think I've suffered enough?" now he was crying in a true Arystar Krory fashion.

"Nien…not quite…" with that said, she gently tapped his hand that was grasping the small pole with her shoe. Making him loose his grip and left him nothing to stop Komui and his evil "healing" techniques.

"Yay! I got me a big one!" Komui pulled the lever completely and reeled in Krory, who still cried for help all the way down. Soon Komui and his spider robot disappeared in the darkness below.

Miranda just watched.

"Um…wasn't that a bit harsh?" Lavi asked, peaking over her shoulder and down into the abyss. Allen did the same.

"No way" Linalee suddenly appeared from the corner she was hiding in," This is way nicer than what I would've done…nice to see you have a back bone though Miranda" she smiled.

The two boys exchanged looks of worry and fear.

* * *

Before Krory went unconscious for the second time that day, he was sitting in a cold steel chair, strapped down and blinding lights on him. Everything after that was the hissing of Komui's new healing gun, pain and darkness.

Now, when he opened his eyes, he was in his room, lying on his bed and couldn't move too much.

'Is…it over?' he asked himself, luckily his neck was working and he was able to look around, confirming that he really was in his own room.

"Ah..Achoo!"

In fear, the poor traumatized vampire squeezed his eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.

Miranda sniffled, cleaning her nose with a small tissue," Standing in the rain und vallowing in mien despair sure sounded gut at ze time…" she mumbled to herself, placing the tissue in the trash and walking back to her chair which was placed by his bedside. Now in dry clothes, she decided to stay with him until he woke up. Feeling almost sorry for the way she yelled at him, he was a very sensitive fellow. But the key word was 'almost'.

The moment she sat down she immediately noticed something was off, just by the way he was breathing and his eyes were rightly shut, she knew he was awake.

"Krory?" she poked at his arm, he didn't move," Kr..kro…" she suddenly stopped herself.

He gulped and silently waited for her next move, was she still upset or was she going to bash him again?

He received neither, instead he felt her hand brushing his bangs away from his eyes and a small voice saying," Arystar…I know you're avake"

At the sound of his first name being called he opened his eyes and looked straight at her with a bit of surprise of his face, a pleasant surprise.

She smiled and sat back," I figured ve vere at a first name basis about now"

"Y-yeah"

"How are you feeling?"

"Well…I can't really move…" he demonstrated by bending his elbow to bring his arm up, he appeared to have some trouble with just that," and I'm a little cold…"

"Oh, I just put a blanket on you a moment ago, Komui brought you back vithout a shirt und vrapped like a mummy, but I took zem off. You're fine"

"Wh-what?!" He tried to sit up but failed miserably, craning his neck he saw that she was right, there was a blanket on him. Which made him wonder exactly how long she left him there topless, he would ask that later when he knew for sure she was in a good mood. Though she giggled at his panic, looks can be deceiving.

"Um…are you still upset?" he asked softly.

"I'm not going to hurt or yell at you if zats vat you're vondering"

He smiled big," Thank God"

"Sorry about all zat"

"Don't apologize, I deserved it. I'm just glad you could forgive my stupidity" he paused, suddenly giving her the biggest pair of puppy eyes he could," So…I…um…I am forgiven…right?"

She stared at his huge and now watery eyes and laughed," Ja ja, stop vorrying"

He let out a small sigh of relief, she wasn't going to hurt him, he had plenty to be happy about. She smiled and leaned forward, crossing her arms on the bed and resting her head on them, watching him watch her.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, reaching up, as best he could, to gently pet her hair.

"I know" Miranda sighed, burying her face in her arms, slowly drifting off as he continued to toy with the end of her hair around his fingers.

The bed squeaked and moved a bit, she peaked over her arm with one eyes, to find him now much closer than he was before.

"So…I am forgiven…you're sure?" he asked innocently. It didn't hurt to check.

Though he couldn't see it, most of her face was buried in her arms, her smile couldn't get any bigger. Miranda knew better than anyone exactly how much Eliade meant to him, she was so sure that this moment here with him would never happen. Plus with all of her other failures in her past, there was no doubt that she would fail at love as well.

"Arystar, Ja means yes" she giggled, lifting her head up to kiss his forehead.

When she brought her face back onto his arms she saw tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Really?"

She just laughed, he did too. Things were going to be ok after all.

He had his goofy smile back on and nuzzled his face in her arm like a cat wanting attention," Love you" he mumbled, now his hand resting on hers. She yawned slightly, grasping his hand and responded back in a very sleepy state.

"Ic…Ich libe...diche" and she fell asleep.

He blinked in confusion at her slurred words but let it go, he could always ask later. A few moments passed as he watched her sleep peacefully, before he knew it, a small tear fell from his eyes and let out a tiny cry of victory before falling asleep.

"Yay"

* * *

"…She's not very pretty…" a sulky female voice suddenly stated.

Krory's eyes snapped opened immediately.

"…You do know that…right?"

He sat up straight, completely forgetting about his sore and tired body, he looked around the room in a panic, searching for the source of the familiar voice. He soon found her standing in front of his dress, in front of his lone rose.

"Eliade…"

He didn't move, he just watched her to face…not him but the sleeping girl beside him. Krory's blood went cold, her face was difficult to read, was she upset? Jealous? Or sad?

"No…not pretty at all" her voice was emotionless, just stating what she saw.

"You know I never cared about that..." he replied softly, as to not wake Miranda.

The blonde apparition just shrugged and began to walk off towards the door.

"Oh well…each to his own I guess, maybe she'll be able to do what I couldn't do for you" she smiled pathetically to herself," It would sure make up for plenty"

'_I wanted to love you'_

He kept his eyes on her silently, he always thought of so many things he wanted to say or do if he could see her again, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. She grabbed the doorknob and looked over at him this time, like she was waiting.

"I still love you" he admitted, but then sighed," But I have to let you go"

She smiled," You idiot, if you were a real man you would've said it sooner"

Despite her negative comments, he knew now that she was lying, a good liar but a lie to cover herself up no different than the makeup she wore.

"Now we both can be at peace" she opened the door.

"Will I see you again?"

She kept her smile as she left," No"

THE END

* * *

*plops over dead*

DONE! Everyone thank you so much for your continuous support for Krory and Miranda!

Maybe an epilouge....hmm...dunno yet. review plz!

~Swd


	10. Epilouge: First Date

Late one night, Jerry, the Order's head chef was hard at work cooking a masterpiece. No, not to get ahead or to experiment in which Allen would be the guinea pig. Oh no, this was special.

"Psst! Jerry!" a voice called out in a hard whisper by the window.

"Hey! Just in time, I finished your special order Mr. Krory!" the cook beamed as he put two take out boxes wrapped in a picnic like blanket.

"Great! Thanks so much Jerry, we owe you one" as Krory reached out to grab the boxes, Jerry immediately caught sight of a suit and tie under her cloak.

"Aw…you look good in a suit, she'll love it" he smiled big, giving him thumbs up.

Krory blushed," Y-yeah?"

"Absolutely! Now get up there before it gets cold!"

"Thank you so much Jerry!" with that he turned to leave…

But then stopped in mid step and turned slightly.

Jerry put a hand over his heart," I won't tell a soul"

"Thank you!" and now he left.

* * *

Meanwhile back in Miranda's room, there was chaos.

The poor girl was busy running around, trying to clean and get herself ready at the same time.

"Oooh…I knew I should've asked Linalee for help…" she whimpered to herself while digging through her drawers for any non-black make up, which so far wasn't looking too good.

"Miranda?" and there was Krory, right on time as they had planned, calling out from behind the door.

But this only caused her panic to increase.

"Dah! Um…h-hold on!" she called back, looking back at her floor which was covered in clothes and other random items during her attempted search for something else. Giving up on her make up, she grabbed everything and threw it all in her closet, sloppy, but he won't see it. Which was the point.

Krory smiled a bit to himself as he waited, he could hear her desperately trying to clean and things perfect their…supposed first date. By now he already knew she was going to be like this, he patiently waited outside, he couldn't help but feel a little loved as she tried to make things perfect just for him.

"Oy! Krory-kins! Whatcha doing out this late?"

Krory froze, of all people, Lavi was the last person on the planet he wanted see right now. He quickly hid the boxes of food behind him, but still under his cloak. It was about not he was thankful for his weird love of cloaks and capes.

"O-oh! Lavi good evening…I'm just…um here…to uh…help…yeah! Er…help…" he smiled nervously.

"…It's almost midnight…what could she need help with?" Lavi yawned.

Suddenly a little light turned on in his head, slowly a grin formed on his face.

"Unless…"

"…what?" Krory blinked in confusion.

"You know…help her…'loosen up'?" he nudged Krory's arm with his elbow," If ya know what I mean…"

"Um…no I don't actually…" he blinked again, really having no idea what Lavi was on about. But Miranda, who finished cleaning and got a little too curious, had her ear pressed against the door, listening to every word. She blushed deeply, Krory had no idea what was going on but she sure did.

"Oh c'mon Kro! You know…help her-"

"Krory!" Miranda opened the door before Lavi could finish," Oh! Gut you're here! Now you can fix mien clock!" with her quick excuse, she grabbed the very confused Krory and pulled him in.

"Guten Nacht Lavi!" she smiled sweetly before slamming the door, leaving Lavi to his own dirty thoughts in the empty hallway.

"Phew…" she sighed in relief.

"Nice work Miranda" he smiled big," You really saved me back there"

"Oh…vell…ve don't vant everyone to know about us yet…und if Lavi knew then the whole Order vill by tomorrow"

True, Allen, Linalee, Lavi and even Komui knew that there was some kind of relationship going on. But as of now, everyone wasn't too sure if they were serious just yet. Which, they were, but knowing how everyone was going to react....

The two shy and timid exorcists weren't exactly used to being the center of attention. So tonight they met in secret.

He scratched the back of his head, and smiled like the goofball he was,"Yeah…hey did you hear him talking? He was saying something and acting fun-"

"N-nein! Nothing at all!" she grabbed the boxes from him and smiled nervously," S-so let's eat!"

Krory just shrugged it off, what ever Lavi was talking about must have been something interesting to make Miranda freak out. But regardless the reason, something else caught his eye as she turned to put the boxes on the small table she has set up.

"Um…Miranda?" he blushed.

"Ja?" she turned slightly.

As he took a breath to respond, he stopped himself. Analyzing his time spent with her, her personality, and how she reacts to certain situations, he chose a different response.

"Don't move"

Before she could answer, he stood behind her and grasped the back of her dress and the zipper, pulling it up and closing it.

Miranda felt her very soul froze over.

"There all done" he smiled, though his cheeks were light pink still.

"I-I-I-I-I…i-it vas open?"

Of course, leave it to Miranda to forget about that little detail.

"Not anymore"

She blushed deeply, mortified and very embarrassed, keeping her eyes down, not wanting to face him. Despite the small smile on his face, he was still a man, and as such who would've guessed at a pink brazier?

"I-I-I-I-I-I'm…um…s-sorry…you…uh…had to see that…" she coughed.

Definitely an interesting way to start their first date, how would she ever live this one down?

Before she could ever begin to think about her usual,' I'm hopeless at everything'. Krory laughed and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kissing her on the cheek.

"Don't worry about it" he reassured, nuzzling his face in her shoulder,"Ok?"

Within the few days they shared together after resolving their "fight", she came to know to Krory, was infact, a cuddle leech. Though most men would promptly stay away from it, she knew he was unlike any man and anytime he was close he just couldn't stay away for the life of him. Of course she didn't mind, most women would kill to have a man hold them just because. Linalee expressed this jealousy the other day, from then on Miranda swore to keep Krory. Perhaps her luck was finally changing after all.

"Ja…" she smiled, looking up at her tall vampire, who smiled back," Hungry?"

He bent down and kissed her lightly, "Waiting all night for you to say that! Let's eat!"

She laughed and watched him set up their midnight dinner.

Tonight Jerry went for the cliché, Italian food, specifically pasta, what relationship goes on without it?

"You know vhat I alvays vondered?" she started, munching on some garlic bread. Krory quickly slurped up a long string of spaghetti to answer.

"Hm?"

"Vhy do people sit across from each other during dates?"

It was quiet for a moment as he thought about it," You know…I really don't know…" he paused, looking down their own seating arrangement.

Unlike others, they sat next to each other, Krory's arm never leaving her waist.

She shrugged," Huh, vierd. I like this anyvay"

"Me too" he smiled big, now attacking a meatball.

The meal was nice and small, Jerry wanted it that way, can't ruin an appetite for breakfast in the morning, not that would ever hinder Krory but it was the principle of the thing. It was soon gone, leaving the two full and very satisfied…and unsure of what to do next.

"Now vhat?" she looked up and over her shoulder at him, he was busy cleaning himself with a napkin, he could be quite the messy eater.

"Well…I did bring this along with me…" he dug into his coat and pulled out a record.

"Oh! Music but…"

He blushed in embarrassment," But I realized to too late that we don't have a record player"

She giggled lightly at his small mistake," So then vhat?"

Without a second thought he stood up and offered his hand out to her," Dance with me anyway?"

She blinked,"Vith no music?"

"Who needs it?" his smile could light up the entire Black Order.

"U-u-um....vell...I do...maybe...um..." she stammered horribly, he tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"V-vell...you see...I um...I can't..." she looked away and poked her index fingers together.

He took her hand and brought her to her feet," It's ok, I don't know how to dance either!"

"...you...you don't?"

"Nope!" he continued to smile, melting away her nervousness like the sun to ice," I always wanted to dance with someone, even if I don't know how but it's even better since we both don't!"

The child like logic of the tall exorcist never ceased to amaze her, without hesitation she took his hand and stood up.

"Ok!"

If anyone else were walk in on them, they would probably laugh at the two and definitely not with them. Miranda's nervousness returned with an iron fist as he put his hand on her waist, despite how many times he's held her, it always made her heart jump out of her chest.

Now nervous and blushing, her clumsy nature was amplified, as the two tried to take a step or two, she was stumble or step on his foot. He was thankful she didn't wear heels....really....Thank God. It was just a few minutes of this before Krory finally stopped and scratched his chin in thought, while poor Miranda was trying not to cry, very embarrassed.

"Hm..."

"M-maybe this vasn't such a gut ide-" she suddenly squeaked, her feet no longer touching the floor as he wrapped both his arms around her waist and lifting her up. Like a reflex she held onto him for dear life.

"H-hey, vhat are you doing?" he smiled big, like a little kid that had something up his sleeve.

He gently placed her back on her feet, well more like his feet. Confused she looked down and found herself standing on his shoes.

"There! Now you can move with me without moving!" Genius.

She blinked, for a moment not understanding until he took a step foreword. They moved alright and she didn't have to. There was a flashback in the back of her mind, going back to when she was young and life was simple, back when she was with her father and wanted to dance with him. When she was too big to be held she stood on his shoes and they danced.

Before she knew it there were tears streaming down her face.

"H-hey what's wrong? Are you ok?" he panicked slightly, reaching up and stroking her tears away.

"Ja....Ja I'm ok" she whimpered, resting her head on his shoulder," Just...keep dancing"

Despite his confusion, he obeyed and took a few steps here and there, swaying from side to side slowly. She sighed happily and relaxed in his firm but gentle grip. It wasn't long before she began to hum her own song to their dance.

"Who needs fancy restaurants or a magnificent ball?" she finally mumbled after a comfortable silence," This is the best night of mein life"

"I think this is one of many best nights I've had"

At this interesting topic, she brought her head up and stared at him, looking suspicious," One of many?"

"Uh huh"

"Vhere vas I?" now looking a little dejected.

"Well first there was the time you were poisoned when Akuma attacked you, I was so scared but I was really happy that I was able to save you!"

She blushed, feeling her neck tingle, though it healed long ago; he saved her life.

"Then there was that time we played Checkers and you totally beat me" he laughed, she giggled. That was one of their first in-depth conversations to get to know each other.

"Do you remember vhen I came home und I blamed myself for that Finder's death?" she asked gently, he smiled sadly.

"and I went to find you and got caught in your bubble"

"und you cried vith me"

"You were so sad" he kissed her forehead, how did she go from the worlds unluckiest woman on the planet to the luckiest?

"Or the time vhen I asked you about your flowe-...oh...I...mean..." she stopped herself from mentioning that part of their history.

"And I told you about Eliade, then a few nights later we kissed for the first time and I left you"

She was quiet, no longer looking at him.

"I still cannot tell you how sorry I am for that, I don't des-DAH!"

"EEK!"

Like some kind of divine intervention of too mushy romance, the two weren't paying attention as to where they were going as they talked and still danced. Or at least it was Krory's fault, he was getting too corny, and didn't realize how close the bed was until the back of her knees touched the side causing her to buckle, too late to recover Miranda promptly fell back on it with Krory landing right on top of her. Luckily he caught himself, both of his hands on each side of her and holding himself up, not crushing her.

"Ow..."

"O-oh! Miranda I'm sorry are you ok?"

She looked up at him and blinked, he looked back. Almost at the same time, their faces burned bright red, blushing horribly at their situation...and position.

"Dah! S-sorry!" he quickly hopped off of her and sat on the bed, helping her sit up.

"I'm sorry! It vas only a matter of time before mien clumsiness acted up! I'm sorry" she whimpered, again on the verge of tearing up, again very embarrassed.

"Miranda, don't be get upset. I love you the way you are!"

She whipped her hear around to face him and his big grin.

"I think you being clumsy make life interesting!"

"Vell...I'm not sure about tha-Dah! Hey!" she was cut off by Krory once again claiming her waist and pulling her in his lap.

"Danke" he whispered gently, burying his face in her shoulder.

"...for vhat?"

"Taking me back"

It was quiet save for her grandfather clock gently clicking as time went by, Miranda sighed. Life wasn't so bad after all; there she was, in the arms of Krory feeling safe and happy for once.

It wasn't long before the time finally had gotten to them, forced to have their first date at a ridiculous hour in the evening to avoid unwanted attention. Krory yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"It's pretty late..."

"Ja I know...um..." she blushed, poking her fingers together again," Can...you..."

She couldn't see the big smile on his face," Of course, I wasn't planning on letting you go anyway" with her still in his grasp he purposely fell over on his side, both not at all caring if they were still fully clothed.

He reached behind him and pulled his cloak over to cover them.

"Danke..." she mumbled, getting sleepy a lot fast than she anticipated. She always felt so relaxed in his arms.

"Gu...um...Guteeen...Na...er...Night?"

She bit her lip to not laugh at his...poor attempt at German.

"Guten Nacht Arystar" she mumbled, it wasn't long before she fell asleep in his arms.

He couldn't stop smiling, despite how sleepy he was. There was no way around it; this was the woman he was going to marry.

* * *

Unfortunately, the next morning, the curious red head was the first to find Miranda's door unlocked and walked in.

"OH MY GOD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Both Miranda and Krory woke up with a start and looked to find a very horrified Lavi in the doorway. Of course, Lavi of all people would jump to conclusions after seeing both of his friends sleeping together and wrapped in Krory's cloak, thus making it difficult to see that they were still in their clothes.

"YOU ARE THE TWO MOST UNLIKELY PEOPLE IN THIS ENTIRE BUILDING TO GET SOME ACTION AND HERE YOU ARE. WHAT THE HELL"

Needless to say, their secret was out.

* * *

THE END!

Thank you all for your support! I hope to see more KroryxMiranda fics here in the future! My one shots will continue of course :3

~Swd


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